Life in American Culture - Personal Statement Example

I shifted from my home country, The Republic of Belarus, to America. The way of living, traditions and values of America were different from my home country. At first, I found it difficult and impossible to adjust there as I was very weak in English. The condition of my written and spoken English may be compared to the situation of mother's English in Amy Tan's novel. As Amy describes it "I can think of no way to describe it other than "broken," as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness" (62).

I used to get irritated and annoyed while communicating to friends, teachers and other associates. The difference of language and accent made me feel low and helpless. My social circle was shortened to an extent that I felt isolated and lonely. This was the worst effect of moving from my native land to a new state. Some close associates even gave me their own narratives in my home land in which they told about the difficulties they faced when they moved to a new place. These narratives made me more conscious when interacting with other people and they had a negative effect on my interactive cycle as I tried to be more accurate when talking in English, although it was quite impossible for me to do that in the beginning.

I used to be a high-spirited and fun loving girl. . I was somehow compelled to learn English but the great experience of learning other's language was more enjoyable than going out with friends. It was more interesting to express your feelings in a diary or in the college magazine than making fun of others and killing time in watching a movie. The new culture taught me to live with the hardships and discrimination as described by different narratives put by my close aides. These narratives had made me so conscious that before interacting in the new culture I was prepared to have a negative reply.

Furthermore the narratives made me shape my identity according to what was required by the people in the new culture. The sense of freedom in this kind of culture made me go taste the feeling of freedom for the first time in my life.In this new culture, I became more independent regarding my dressing, educational selection and job. I had no conservative people around to stop me from wearing any sort of dresses. I was no more bound to wear traditional dress of Belarus. It was a great experience to show your creativity in the selection of clothes.

I was also free to choose any subject out of thousands of courses available at different universities in the U.S. Despite of these eases and comforts of independence I soon realized the importance of my homeland and my family. With the passing time I figured out that if I do not find a job I would soon have to leave for Belarus. With this thought I started seeking for a job. This was the first time I tried to take a step alone. I learnt to stand up after falling down. I learnt to achieve and work hard.

I started caring about my bills and other expenses. This aspect of living in a new culture