I have received final confirmation from Chevening

I received the final confirmation from Chevening Awards (FCO) for a 100% scholarship to pursue my Masters at Oxford University. 

In school, I remember ditching a lot of plans I had for myself because we wouldn’t be able to afford it. After I got into Dhaka University, I started working part-time in different places right from the first year of university, because I wanted to feel what it felt like to be able to “afford a dream”. There were so many things I missed out on because I had to be at work. But I never regretted that once. 

My dreams weren’t too big back then. I dreamt of buying my first laptop. I dreamt of buying my first good phone. I dreamt of travelling to different places with my own money. I dreamt of buying my mother the things she wanted but wouldn’t get because “they’re too expensive”. They may not be big dreams, but they were big to me. Today, those dreams are all real.

Being able to study at one of the best universities in the world, the University of Oxford, was not something I even dreamt of, to be honest. The surrounding in which we grew up, we were made to realize that in order to be able to study in universities like these, you either needed to be super rich or super talented. I didn’t grow up to believe I was either. 

But even despite all this, my parents always made sure that both my sister and I received the education we deserved. There were times my father would have to take out loans to pay for our exams. He would never let us understand that he was having a tough time. But we’d always know. Back then, I made a promise to myself: I would never do anything to make my parents go through that again. But that won’t mean that I would stop dreaming.

Today, I am receiving the Chevening Scholarship to pursue my second Masters at the University of Oxford. It still feels like a dream, but I’m glad that it’s not.

#ChosenForChevening #CheveningScholarship #chevening2020