Since founding SEDA, I have witnessed thousands of students arriving in Ireland with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. Many arrived full of dreams, but also with the apprehensive look of someone who had just left everything behind.
There was the fear of loneliness, the apprehension of the language, the insecurity of not knowing if they would be able to cope. This fear is legitimate — and, in fact, it is the starting point of almost all the stories that truly transform.
Over time, I learned that what differentiates those who succeed is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to persevere even with it.
Fear, contrary to what we usually think, is not the enemy of courage.
It is part of it. The first day of class, the first conversation in English, the first “no” in a job interview — each of these experiences challenges self-confidence and confronts the student with their own limitations.
But it is also there that the deepest learning is born. Education, when experienced far from home, ceases to be solely about content and becomes about identity.
Learning a language in another country is, above all, a process of personal reconstruction: it’s about relearning how to make mistakes, how to ask for help, how to communicate in a vulnerable way.
And it is precisely in this discomfort that confidence begins to be built.
In every SEDA classroom, there is always someone who starts in silence. At first, shyness dominates, and fear seems like an insurmountable wall.
But, little by little, this same student begins to take risks: asks questions, participates, tries out their first sentences, allows themselves to laugh at their own mistakes.
And, almost without realizing it, transforms fear into movement. This is the turning point that inspires me the most: seeing courage born from everyday life, in small decisions that seem simple but require immense inner strength.
With each step, fear loses ground, and self-confidence flourishes.
These students taught me something that I also carry with me in life as an entrepreneur: confidence doesn’t come before the action, it comes during the process. Those who wait to feel ready never begin. Learning—whether in a language, at work, or in business—happens as we move.
Fear, when understood and confronted, ceases to be an obstacle and becomes fuel. It is what keeps us alert, aware, and, paradoxically, alive.
Seeing a student who arrived insecure speak in English before an audience months later is one of the greatest rewards of my work.
It is proof that fear, when faced with purpose, transforms into power.
Each story like this reinforces my belief that education is much more than mastering a language—it is a path of self-knowledge and overcoming challenges.
And, in the end, that’s what we all seek: the courage to continue, even when we are still trembling inside.
