Unexpected College Life - Personal Statement Example

Mohamed Hablail Meredith Jeffers 9/04 Unexpected college life! Back in high school, I was not yet sure which I am going to applyfor and which course will I major. I also had no idea how will my college life is going to be. So I just focused in studying to be able to get good grades. My parents motivated me to pursue a degree in college but they also confuse me sometimes. My mother me to become a doctor while my father wanted me to become an engineer. I remember they were always arguing which major am I going to apply for but in the end, they both agree that it is I who should choose my future career. I heard that some companies are offering a scholarship for excellent students to study abroad in either in the USA, UK even Japan and Korea. One day, me and my family went to my grandmother’s house and spent the weekend. It is one and a half hour far away in the capital city of Abu Dhabi. There I met my uncles Obaid and Khalid who graduated from the USA as engineers. I have been impressed listening to their stories and college life here in US and it felt like my college life journey already began during that day. Afterwards, I went out to the big garden that is surrounded by the palm trees and took I took a deep breath while I was pondering whether I wanted to study abroad or apply in one of many universities in my country. It was one of the most difficult choice I have to make and I decided to study abroad. I worked hard in the last semester to raise my grade so that I will have a better chance to be accepted in one of those scholarships that companies offer. As a result, I got a grade of 96.5 when I graduated from high school. I was so happy and my whole family was very proud of me. They prepared a big party for my graduation. I was very happy but I was also concerned about the scholarship so the fun only lasted for a shorted time. I have to apply for my scholarship. I applied for two companies which are National Electronic Security System (NESA) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). My first option was NESA because my best friends also applied for scholarship in the same company and ADNOC was my second option. Unfortunately I was rejected at NESA but my friends were accepted. I was really shocked because I got high grade and I did very well in the interview. I was really unhappy when I received the final decision from NESA. But few minutes later, a big door opened for me, and yes it was opened by my one of a kind mother like she always does. She motivated me to try my best with ADNOC where I was accepted. I then applied for more than one university in USA, and Western Virginia University (WVU) was one of them. Few weeks later, I received the acceptance from WVU. I took the acceptance letter from WVU to ADNOC to get the scholarship. I was so excited to get the scholarship from ADNOC because it is the biggest oil company in my country. I was also excited that I will travel to study abroad and that my bright future is waiting for me. Before travelling to the USA, I went to Dubai mall, the biggest mall in the Middle East to prepare myself. Fortunately, it was summer festival sales so I was able to buy a lot of stuff that I need. I then booked two tickets with my father who traveled with me. I was so nervous that I will be away from my family for months. My travel date finally came and my emotions were mixed. I was excited but nervous as well. After 14 hours of flight, the plane finally landed safely in IAD airport in Washington D.C, I was so excited because it was my first time in USA. I took another flight to Morgantown and begun my journey as a student in WVU. There are many compelling reasons why I came to study In West Virginia University. The most obvious reason is that WVU is a very good university and I have a lot of friends in here. I even met one of my old friends Khalifa and we decided to live in the same apartment. It is interesting to note that we met each other after five years and now we are studying the same course. The second reason is that I came to West Virginia to study petroleum engineering which could give a very good future for me. Studying at WVU however is very challenging for me because I am far from my home country United Arab Emirates. Being a student here in WVU is also tough because I am away from my family and friends. The culture in the United States is also very different from my culture. I however got used to it because I found a good company quickly who are kind, where we understand the difference between our cultures. During weekends, I spend most of my time with my friends. We play football, watch movies and hangout together. My friends have different nationalities and we communicate together through the English language. My English is not that bad and it is getting better and better especially when I am practicing it in communicating with my international friends. Moreover, I also think that reading books in English has strengthened my vocabulary and developed my English language better than before. It is still not perfect, but I am striving to make it perfect someday. English does not only help me to communicate with people in here. I am also benefiting from it in doing my assignments and writing my projects reports. I used to have difficulties writing my essays and reports but now able to do them better and faster. Studying here WVU has also significantly improved my English because I get to practice it in communicating with different people from different nationalities, especially Americans. Reading school works and other interesting literatures also improved my English language. Read More