Childhood in Russia - Essay Example

Following my family's move to the United States, I approached the first English assignment handed out in the same way. I did not get the mark I expected. To understand where I went wrong, I went to my homeroom teacher and was told something quite strange - the assignment called for creative thinking not the regurgitation of facts. In my next assignment, I followed my teacher's advice and found myself thinking outside what was, for me, the box. I was thinking from outside the person I was trained to be and, paradoxically, in so doing, felt as if I had found myself.

For the very first time in my life, I felt that what I was writing expressed who I was. It was from this point onwards that the value of thinking from outside the box was impressed upon me.