When I came to the USA - Essay Example

Everyone has a kind of place that he or she is comfortable in. It’s that peaceful, serene place to go to when you just want to unwind. For me, I like my bedroom. I feel like I am a queen and my room is my palace where I can do whatever I want in it. Unfortunately, we always have to leave our comfort zones but oftentimes, this is for the best. For me, leaving my palace was a step toward embarking on a new beginning. Last year I needed to leave not only my palace, but also my home because I wanted to go to the United States in order to study at school and work toward my future goals.

When I first came to America, I was very nervous and depressed that I left part of my family and my home. I had also left my comfort zone. Obviously, it was a big blow in my life because I was leaving everyone behind. Everything I have ever known including my culture, my friends, and my country and my life were something I was stepping beyond when I crossed into the United States. However, I understood that this sacrifice was what I needed as I began my new life. Without a doubt, it was a challenge for me as I had to assimilate.

As a child growing up in my home country, I was an average kid who loved to play sports and tried very hard in school. However, when my parents decided to come to America, the transition was without a doubt one that was difficult. I had to adapt to a new language, new customs, and a whole new culture. Yet, I never gave up even though I came from an environment where things were more conservative than how they are in United States. The questions that were always longing in my head, ‘Would I make new friends?

’ Or ‘Will I ever fit in?’ Also, ‘Will I ever feel like I am comfortable and at home?’ These questions taunted me and sometimes still do. However, coming to America was an adventure and a new way of life and I was and am ready to push aside these questions in order to progress and make a better life for myself here in the United States. When my brother and I travelled to the U.S.A., we had a very weary time. Our journey was so long and in midst of coming to the States, we did not even have a last proper meal.

You can imagine the anxiety, sadness and even the excitement in our hearts. It was a chaotic moment where I had mixed emotions. I can remember that when we landed in the airport, all I could think was that the flight was really long. I had not been able to sleep in the airplane because of the loud humming noise of the engine. Additionally, I was too anxious to land to America, which added to the rest of the emotions I was feeling. After we finally landed, we flagged down a taxi to take us to a nearby town where we would begin to settle and start our new lives in this foreign country.

The neighborhood was close to our school which was wonderful because that was our main priority. After we reached the new town, we decided to settle in a hotel for a bit. Unfortunately, we were looking for a place to stay for almost three hours. I was exhausted and so physically spent that my feet were trembling and I could not even stand up anymore but we kept trying until we found a place to stay. Finally, we found an available room in a hotel. Although this should have been a relief after this long excursion, it was not.

We simply were not comfortable. The hotel was terrible because there was a distinctly foul odor. We knew it was not a top-notch hotel due to our budget constraints. Also, it was so dark that we could not even see the end of the lobby. A few minutes after looking around, we decided to take the room despite our reluctance. My brother asked me, “Do you want to stay to night in this hotel?” I replied to him with an easy response, “I do not feel comfortable.” As soon as I finished my sentence, my brother understood what I was feeling because he was sensing it as well and we at once canceled the reservation.

Starting back at where we seemed to have just left off, we continued looking for a room and found one. Much to our relief, it was better than the first one. We took that room for a couple days until we could look for a more permanent place to start calling home because the hotel that we had found was expensive for our budget and it was also too far away from our new school.              One day we found a couple of rooms off campus. We were so excited. However, there was one glitch that we were not aware that we would run into.

Though we were siblings, we could not live together. The campus rules required that my brother had to live with males in an apartment and I had to live with females in another apartment. Though it was strange to accept this, we did. However, I was not happy with this scenario. It was awful because I was alone in this new place and without the support of my family. It is clear that my brother can be my rock and my foundation, especially during this transitional time. To make matters worse, my room was too small.

I felt that I was trapped in a foreign place and could not get out. In addition, the heat added to our misery as the air conditioning was too expensive. As students, we lived on a limited budget and really had to watch what we spent. It was very difficult for us to even spare some money for leisure spending. Due to this, having the luxury of air conditioning was not an option.               This kind of lifestyle was bothering me a lot and my once anxious and excited self was becoming more miserable with the new life I had chosen by coming to America.

I decided to ask the official registration offices in my school to provide a homestay for me because I couldnt stand living in the dorm room anymore. A couple of weeks later and still without answers, I decided to escalate this issue to my headmaster. The headmaster took my issue seriously and did his ‘due diligence’ to find me a new place to stay. I was ecstatic when they told me that they found a host family that I could move in with the next Saturday. As the headmaster informed me of where I would be living, he elaborated more on the family.

He stated that they were just a couple who did not have children. At that point, I knew that they will value my company since they had no kids. I felt as though I would be keeping them company in a way that they had never experienced and I would also have a different place to live. Fortunately, I become more comfortable with the idea of living in their house as I adjusted to the thought of living somewhere other than my dorm room. Even though I was so excited, it still would require me to have a ride to drive me back and forth to campus.

However, I would not have the hassle of living in small dorm rooms where I would never get adequate spacing, air and light. At first, I was anxious because I was scared to meet the family. What if they did not like me? What if I did not like them? I had butterflies all over as I paced back and forth, worrying what that Saturday would bring. I stayed awake all night on Friday packing my stuff and I was so excited that I just could not settle in to bed. On that Saturday morning, I put my stuff in the car as my roommates helped me.

At 10:00 a.m., my roommates drove me to the homestay, because my brother had gone back home when he finished studying English. We arrived there and I was actually surprised to find that there were a couple of older people standing outside the house. They greeted me at once with open arms. “Hello, my dear,” said the older woman with the graying hair and long flowy red skirt on. She hugged me immediately while the older man with whom I would be staying rushed to help my roommates unload my belongings from the car.

He took my hand in his as he welcomed me. “We have never had a child before so please forgive us. We are ever so grateful to be able to offer you a place to stay while you continue your schooling.” His bald head and smile both gleamed at me and at once I felt like I had finally found a place in America that I could feel at peace at. At once, I felt comfortable in their presence. My roommates were with me as we met the family and everything felt right in place. I was no longer anxious.

They were so warm and welcoming. The couple with the little yellow house with the red door were very nice and friendly. “You have such beautiful hair and complexion,” the woman told me. Though she had never been a mother, she had a very maternal nature about her. “I hope we find some things in common despite the fact that we have so many differences. I am so pleased you are here with us.”The man continued to tell me how wonderful they felt to provide me with a place to stay. I could tell he had been nervous too as his cheeks were pink and he had to adjust the collar of his button up shirt to keep him cool.

“We are just so very thrilled to have someone we can share our home with and at the same time get a good education,” he said. “You are very brave to leave your home country to pursue your dreams.” After we talked, it felt like they were good people and I had a very good vibe with them. We talked, ate, and discussed my school plans. The woman had made a full course meal with so much food, some of which I was not accustomed to, that I ate until I was absolutely stuffed. “More dessert, dear?

” she asked as I had to finally push away my second piece of homemade chocolate cake. “No, thank you,” I said politely. We continued to talk and laugh as they learned more about me and I took in more about them. Everywhere I looked in their home, there was something on the wall. It was a very bright and cheery place and though they were older, they were still very at peace to find that I was not a wild student but instead was here and in their home on a mission. They told me how impressed they were with my bravery to come to America for my studies and then they encouraged me to settle in and make myself feel as though I was at home.

After everything was settled, they showed me my room and it was amazing and my bed was very big and comfortable. I was in awe because it was a huge upgrade from the small bed that I was given in the dorms. Their home was like a hotel, but not the kind like I had first stepped foot into with my brother. Instead, it smelled very nice, like a freshly toasted cinnamon roll and the furniture was lavish. My room had a huge walk-in closet where I could put all of my clothes. There were two light fixtures so it was nice and bright.

There was a nice spacious desk for me to do my homework. Then there was one of the nicest luxuries I had experienced yet: a centralized cooling system. I felt so comfortable and blessed that I was provided with all these luxuries. I truly felt like a princess and it seemed too good to be true. As I began to spend time with the new family, I began to get very close to them. I feel that they are in fact my second parents, which is a huge blessing. However, there were still those moments where I felt homesick.

No matter what occurred, I did miss home. When I had those racing thoughts of my family so far away, I would go upstairs and spend time with my homestay family so I would not feel lonely. They would comfort and motivate me because they also understood my issues. Not only did they help me emotionally, but they also helped me to improve my English. I now feel that I can speak English very easily and much better than I was able to only a couple of months ago. Sometimes when I think of how much I was scared when I came to America, I feel like I was thinking like a child because everybody needs to make a tough decision in order to achieve his or her goal.

Looking back, I think coming to America was one of the best decisions I ever made. I knew that I had to make the tough choice of leaving everyone and coming here. However, this country has already offered me so many opportunities that I knew never existed. This allowed me to have channels to follow my passion, obtain an education, and make my parents proud (even my second parents). Undoubtedly, I wanted to succeed so badly in my life that I knew this sacrifice was one that had to be made. Oftentimes, we do not want to take a risk because we are afraid of the failure.

With all my trials and tribulations, I still was able to be successful. This became a testament to my work ethic. Another element that most people do not know about me is the fact that coming to America cultivated my work ethic. I was not the smartest kid but I tried my best in my classes to excel. I had to embrace the role of a leader in my class. The task was tough because I had to motivate everyone to do their roles and often meet on campus or outside in order to ensure our success. This was sometimes difficult, especially since most Asian students are shy and passive according to my upbringing.

However, I never allowed that to become a barrier for myself or for my team. PROMPT 2:One of the personal qualities that has been the hallmark of my life is my work ethic. My work ethic has been a single factor that has allowed me to truly reach new heights. My zeal to be successful through my hard work has allowed me to surpass new heights and achieve impossible feats. It was my hard work ethic that guided me to compete in varsity soccer, though not my actual talent. Throughout the years, I realized that hard work will always take you further in life than talent.

As a philosophical individual, I used to listen to inspirational videos that emphasized work ethic.It was evident that my hard work was also one of the qualities that colleagues and peers admired. This desire and the pursuit to be best was the driving force that not only was a channel for motivation, but it allowed me to reach success. Since some were from a wealthy background, they did not make it their objective to go the extra mile for their passion. On the other hand, I had very humble beginnings and realized the importance of hard work from early age.

I remembered waking up early, helping my dad with the chores, going to school along with playing soccer and volunteering in my free time. The quality of having a strong work ethic is the pinnacle of success because success does not come easy. It is clear that an individual must want to be successful more than actually just making a living. Without a doubt, coming to America was a huge sacrifice, but it made me the person that I am today. Without these struggles, I would not been the successful person that I would am.

Although it was quite an adjustment, I am positive that I will reap the rewards in the end. Additionally, I can never thank my foster family enough for taking care of me and ensuring that I felt at home. I feel that I am truly blessed with how things worked out for me as I have been here in America.