ipanema901
Oct 31, 2012
Undergraduate / 'We love you from Brazil to California' - USC essay [2]
"We are only doing this because we love you". Those were the last words my gather said before I boarded the plane. It was a cold evening of August, and the big day had finally arrived. Eventhough I didn't want to leave, deep in my heart I knew my parentes only wanted the best for me. I left my life in Brazil to experience what was the unknown for me. I moved to California for my senior year fearing the changes that were about to happen.
As I walked out of the airport, the first thing that caught my attention was the sun. "Get used to it, you'll be seeing it a lot!" my uncle said, but I had already shifted my eyes to the gorgerous view of the bay area. I immediately thought that would be the best year of my life. However, the main thing that I've learned in this experience is that nothing is perfect. It seemed easy to settle down in my realtives' house, but it turned out to be hard. I didn't know how to cook, clean, do laundry or change my little cousin's diappers. It was a culture shock. I has trouble adapting to their life-style, but none of this issues were as hard as dealing with my uncle. My uncle is a really complicated person given the fact that he has never worked in his life, he doesn't help with the house and doesn't take care of his children. He was also really rude, not just to me, but to my aunt as well. He was always fighting and calling my aunt names in front of me and their children, which was really sad to see. For the first six months, my life was so complicated that I was getting depressed. I missed around a month of school because I had no motivation to get out of bed.
Fortunately, my school helped me get over the issues I was encountering. The friends I made encouraged me to be strong and face my problems. They were very supportive and always tried to distract me when times were difficult. My school's co-principal even offered to adopt me, which was really sweet, but I knew that if I wanted to grow as a person I had to stay where I was. I joined some activities after school, such as community servisse and art classes, to keep me out of the house, and I regret not joining it earlier, because it taught me how school can help you.
It was already June in the blink of an eye. Graduation was right around the corner and I didn't want to leave. My exchange year helped me grow as a person and be way more mature. I've learned to have patience, to see the positive side in things, to know it's ok to need help and to overcome my fears. I can't thank my parents enough for this amazing journey that I won't ever forget.
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Thank you!
"We are only doing this because we love you". Those were the last words my gather said before I boarded the plane. It was a cold evening of August, and the big day had finally arrived. Eventhough I didn't want to leave, deep in my heart I knew my parentes only wanted the best for me. I left my life in Brazil to experience what was the unknown for me. I moved to California for my senior year fearing the changes that were about to happen.
As I walked out of the airport, the first thing that caught my attention was the sun. "Get used to it, you'll be seeing it a lot!" my uncle said, but I had already shifted my eyes to the gorgerous view of the bay area. I immediately thought that would be the best year of my life. However, the main thing that I've learned in this experience is that nothing is perfect. It seemed easy to settle down in my realtives' house, but it turned out to be hard. I didn't know how to cook, clean, do laundry or change my little cousin's diappers. It was a culture shock. I has trouble adapting to their life-style, but none of this issues were as hard as dealing with my uncle. My uncle is a really complicated person given the fact that he has never worked in his life, he doesn't help with the house and doesn't take care of his children. He was also really rude, not just to me, but to my aunt as well. He was always fighting and calling my aunt names in front of me and their children, which was really sad to see. For the first six months, my life was so complicated that I was getting depressed. I missed around a month of school because I had no motivation to get out of bed.
Fortunately, my school helped me get over the issues I was encountering. The friends I made encouraged me to be strong and face my problems. They were very supportive and always tried to distract me when times were difficult. My school's co-principal even offered to adopt me, which was really sweet, but I knew that if I wanted to grow as a person I had to stay where I was. I joined some activities after school, such as community servisse and art classes, to keep me out of the house, and I regret not joining it earlier, because it taught me how school can help you.
It was already June in the blink of an eye. Graduation was right around the corner and I didn't want to leave. My exchange year helped me grow as a person and be way more mature. I've learned to have patience, to see the positive side in things, to know it's ok to need help and to overcome my fears. I can't thank my parents enough for this amazing journey that I won't ever forget.
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Thank you!