Aleksandra Bogdanovska, Macedonia 

I am Aleksandra Bogdanovska from Macedonia, I study at HSE University, first year in the master's programme "Psychology of counselling. Personology". During my undergraduate studies, I slowly but surely fell in love with the science of personality - personology. In personology, the person is considered, described and explained not only from a psychological point of view, but also from a cultural, anthropological, philosophical, sociological, biological, medical, and even artistic. I believe that this approach to defining the inner, mental world gives a comprehensive picture of what a person is and how it manages our life. Personology is a relatively young direction in psychology (as it is said “with ancient past and short history”), and thanks to the highly qualified and eminent professors who head this department at HSE University, in my fourth year of undergraduate studies, I had an unbridled desire to fly to Russia and learn about personality directly from the people who are most meritorious for the development of this science. I found out about how developed personology is in Russia from my immensely respected professor from Macedonia, who instilled in me the love for the study of personality.

When it comes to student life at HSE University, I can surely say that it is really dynamic. I spend almost the whole days at the university, but at the end I go home filled with a sense of productivity and satisfaction. In the morning I work out in the university gyms, I eat in the student canteen, then during the day I attend lessons and seminars (at which I have the honor of listening together with highly competent, versatile and ambitious fellow students) and in the afternoon I meet my colleagues from the Macedonian club HSE, which I founded in the last academic year, when I was at the preparatory faculty for studying the Russian language. Sometimes, when there are some interesting student events, competitions or additional lectures, I also participate in them and thus spread acquaintances within our university. I also often visit our sophisticated library on Pokrovsky Boulevard or our comfortable library on Mesnitskaya Street, where the working atmosphere has a motivating effect on my learning.

I especially like the lectures because they are useful, dynamic, interactive and of high quality. The professors try to recognize and realize the potential of each student individually. Colleagues are hard-working, cooperative and inspiring, as well as full of knowledge and creativity and with lots of ideas for new projects. It is really a great honor to be a part of such a community because inspired by my surrounding, I myself come up with various new ideas for projects and research.

So far, unfortunately, I have not started with internship. I would like some time to pass so that I feel completely free in speaking Russian (for now I just understand everything and can read and write fluently, but the speaking part is a little bit challenging). I would like to share my gratitude for the patience that both students and professors show towards me during my attempts to express myself in Russian. I see myself as a beginner-consultant who can help international students (consulting in English), students from the Balkans (consulting in Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian), and in the near future also students who speak Russian fluently. I would also like to have the opportunity to see how psychologists in educational institutions apply their knowledge, so that I can, in the future introduce Macedonian psychologists to techniques, approaches and methods used here.

For other international students, I would recommend:

1. Always give your best, especially if you are a scholarship recipient (someone invested in you – justify that investment). The work here does not go unnoticed.
2. Meet other students – it will enrich your worldview and open many new perspectives.
3. Don't be ashamed to speak in a language you are not yet fluent in. Language improves precisely in interaction with other people.
4. Try to make a synthesis between where you come from and where you came – conduct research that will show cultural similarities and differences, exchange positive experiences and recommendations from both countries.
5. Find a way to promote your culture and tradition. The point is to integrate, not to assimilate yourself in the new environment.
6. Find out about the opportunities offered by HSE University, there are many of them. They can seriously help you in the development of your career, more broadly, of your personality.
7. Read books from university libraries, they are an invaluable treasure.
8. Don't forget that studies are only a part of your life – experience Moscow and its enormous attractions.
9. Don't compare yourself with other students, everyone has their own path in life. Take a cooperative, rather than competitive, attitude toward colleagues and watch things move in a positive upward direction.
10. Try to participate in as many events, lessons, master classes and organizations as possible. It will help you expand acquaintances, practice foreign languages, open up future opportunities and improve yourself as a person.
11. Always have a little blank notebook by your side – when an idea is born, immediately write it down. You will thank me in the future.
12. Try to live here and now – you are in Moscow once, you have this opportunity once. Use it to the maximum and enjoy your journey.