In this article, I want to share with you my story of how a trip to Slovakia completely changed my life for the better. A journey that made me fall in love with the city of Košice and allowed me to revive my childhood dream of studying medicine in Europe.
Being a travelling enthusiast throughout my whole life, when I stumbled upon the opportunity to visit Košice, I couldn’t keep myself from going.
I looked up some photos of the city on the internet and felt blown away. I booked tickets as soon as possible for me and my friend with who we’ve been long-lasting travel buddies,
About Košice
The European Capital of Culture of 2013 is the second biggest city in Slovakia after Bratislava. Situated on the bank of the river Hornád, it’s the economic and cultural centre of Eastern Slovakia.
The city had been established around the thirteenth century, and so it has a lot of well-preserved historical building in Rennaissance, Gothic, Baroque and other styles.
That altogether made me extremely curious about the city.
Impressions
We arrived in the city for a 5-day stay, and we met our highest expectations. We’ve dedicated our time to explore every single bit of Košice. Primarily, we were very interested in all the historical structures and museums. Leaving our utmost fascination aside, while we were strolling along on the 3rd day we stumbled upon a specific building.
It was the Medical University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik. Somewhat lucky we found a British group with a guide just in front of this magnificent building. He was talking about the university. It turned out that there are a lot of international students studying there with a significant British community too.
When I heard why other British applicants decide to study medicine and dentistry in Košice, I felt it. It was the absolute same thing with me. You see, I’ve always had the thrill of becoming a medical doctor, but I didn’t manage to get accepted in the UK. Hearing the guide speak had awakened this dream inside of me again. I let the thought slip into my mind, and we continued with our journey around the city.
The same day we went to see the St Elizabeth’s Cathedral as well as some castles in the region.
Throughout the day and generally through our stay my friend tried to motivate me to pursue my dream of becoming a medical doctor once again. I was reluctant at first, saying I was too old, scared and all of those excuses.
However, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Even when we came back to the UK, I had that buzz inside of me that I should go and try my luck. And so one day it happened. It was mid-April. I got in touch with an educational consultancy agency in my home town in Poole, and it did miracles for me surrounding my application. It turned out that applying to a university is not easy at all.
After a couple of months, in September, I was in Košice again. This time it was different. This time I was there as a first-year medical student. I couldn’t believe my luck with the opportunity that I was presented. I was finally pursuing my dream!
Currently, I’m in completion of my 6th year, and I can say that this journey had helped me to unlock my potential to the fullest. I am a new person, the best version of myself because finally, I was doing what I’ve always wanted. Along with a couple of my British colleagues, I processed my documents to go back to the UK and start specialising in my favourite field. I’ve chosen a profession in cardiology for myself.
Anyway, I hope this article has given you the much-needed hope that it’s never too late and you have to pursue your dreams! Don’t ever put up with a life that you don’t enjoy dearly.