Transitions can sometimes be complex and challenging. For instance, moving countries from Sydney, Australia to New York. This was me 8 months ago, a young adult finishing high school in Sydney. It had always been a dream of mine to live overseas, little did I know that the opportunity was right around the corner.

The opportunity arose and I grabbed it with both hands. To say the least I was nervous but excited and as high school finished I felt a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. With high school over I now looked onto the next step of my life which was college/university.

Being new to the American system of education it was a difficult process to apply for college especially still being in Sydney at the time. I went through the long difficult process of applying, sitting my SAT's and filling out forms etc. By the time I had made my selections, my applications went off and it was time to say goodbye to the place I called home since birth.

The most difficult thing was saying goodbye to my family back home. Unfortunately, about 2 weeks into the move my grandmother passed away unexpectedly, and back to Sydney we went for her funeral. After her funeral, we headed back to New York to begin our lives there.

On a more positive note, I had around 8 months of free time to get to know the city before I started college. So I went to all the tourist destinations of New York: Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, The Rockefeller Center, One World Trade Center and of course Central Park. Visiting all the tourist destinations was amazing.

The food culture of New York is very diverse, you have everything from food trucks to local restaurants and high-end restaurants. As I went to these places I had a great time and ate a lot of food, which for me was a representation of the diversity that NewYork restaurants have to offer.

Being unfamiliar with the American process of getting into college, it was very hard to learn and figure out the steps of getting into university. For example, in the US there is a lot of paperwork, essays, and official transcripts to source and submit. In contrast, the University process in Australia is completely different to that of the U.S.A. In Sydney, you get one overall college admission mark, then apply to different universities online. It's just supply and demand there, if your admission mark is high enough, you are offered a place. No forms, no essays, no long complicated process.

After a long process and nervous wait, I was over the moon to be accepted into PACE, and started my new college experience in downtown NYC this month.

Overall, I would recommend to anyone in my position too, get to know the city you're moving to, familiarize yourself with the hotspots and make sure you work hard to get the best possible outcome, whether it's getting into college or starting something new.