Why I have studied International Relations

Hi! I hope that you are having a wonderful summer! I thought I should share a summer story with you and, if you consider becoming an International Relations scholar like me or study any other field of Politics, I thought it will be useful as well.

So, in summer 2003, that is precisely 15 years ago, I was a girl who had just finished school and was waiting for her final-exam grades to be released. I had literally competed at a national level against tens of thousands of students like me on nine subjects; and my score, along with my preferences, would define whether I had won a place as a student in the Hellenic Academia.

In August 2003, I submitted my preference list to the Hellenic Ministry of Education through the local authorities and all I had to do was wait for the result. It was an emotional summer, because I had to choose something different to my first choice, because my parents were opposite to it.

I chose to tick the all academic departments of the country that were relevant to International Relations. And there you go, I was placed in the department of International and European Studies of the University of Piraeus. You just cannot imagine the relief that I felt. But still, I haven’t told you why I chose International Relations and not, let’s say, Law or Economics, which are my parents’ fields of study.

I hated both Law and Economics. And I wasn’t good at them, either. This was proved by me and concluded by my professors very early in my career as a university student.
The September 11th effect. Two years before I finished school, I entered my Music-Theory teacher’s house for my prep lesson and found him and his wife stuck on the TV screen, which was showing pictures crammed with debris and smoke. They explained to me what had happened. After the lesson, I rushed home and watched all live transmissions from the United States, until the Greek TV channels stopped transmitting. While I was watching the analysts discussing, I was asking myself how a person could know so much about how the world is made and run. And there you go, I had a studying backup plan.
Caring about what’s happening beyond my national borders. I don’t remember a day of my life when domestic news were enough for me. I have always international news and diplomatic reports far more interesting and I have always wanted to know why this scenario happened and not the other one.
Thinking beyond my national borders. I thought big and I was prepared to go abroad or host foreigners for international educational events, such as conferences, internships, leadership camps and more.
A rich and multidisciplinary field of study which offers rich experiences. One BA, two MAs and countless conferences and camps have granted me a big network and knowledge of Accounting, IT, Business, Sociology, Economics apart from the subjects of Politics. The list of practical skills that I’ve gained in the process is quite long, too.
Never getting bored. The world moves too fast for an International Relations scholar to feel bored. Guaranteed!