Thank you to The Secret, The Secret team and thank you to Rhonda Byrne! I always had a belief in The Secret, a book gifted to me by my mother one Christmas. At that time I first read it I was going through my first year of A-Level exams in the British equivalent of High School. Foolishly, I was asking the Universe for high results but I did not really believe it truly. I had a niggling doubt in the back of my mind, I was really asking out of fear.

Two years later, I had not made the grades that I needed apart from in the subject I had a passion for and dearly wanted to study at University, English literature. In that subject I had received a perfect score. Despite my lack of belief after those results, when I was a younger, I visualized myself going to Durham University, the best university in Britain for Literature. I would picture myself  walking around the campus and studying in the library. So I had to choose my second option university, but everything felt wrong. I could not imagine myself there, no matter how hard I tried because it was not where I truly wanted to be. I could not  imagine myself anywhere else and I suddenly did not believe I was meant to go to this other university I held a place at. It was then that I started to re-read The Secret.

Every few days I would walk around the campus with my backpack on; a backpack I bought specifically with the intention of starting Durham University. When I came home, I would write diary entries about how it felt to study there and to talk with the professors. I also visualized the words “congratulations” and “successful” in my mind before I went to sleep. I didn’t know about what they would write in an acceptance letter but it gave me an immense belief. It was after a few weeks that I felt this intense belief needed to be acted on. So I took a risk and cancelled my application at the university I previously held an offer at. That meant that if I did not get accepted into Durham, I would not have a chance of going to any University at all this year.

I had applied to Durham University not knowing that I had only a few hours left before the deadline. And amazingly, after admissions saw my resume, they felt my passion for the course and decided to give me a place! I cried with my mother and we screamed and jumped for joy when I read the letter that said “Congratulations, Maria. Your application has been successful.” It was like a dream, and I seriously will be using the very ethos that embodies this miracle book for the rest of my life.

Thank you once again to The Secret team and to Rhonda. This book has truly changed my life for the better! Thank you, thank you, thank you!