phuc7530
Nov 8, 2012
Undergraduate / UC: Four years ago, I left my country to go to the U.S for a better education [3]
Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
Four years ago, I left my country to go to the U.S for a better education and to have a brighter future as my parents' wishes. All alone, leaving my family, friends and without knowing English, I walked to the airport gate and began my journey. After a long day, and communicating with others by hand signs, I finally arrived in San Diego.
On my first day of school in the U.S, I felt alienated. The culture was very different from my country. My first challenge was with English. In school, I studied how to listen, read and write the language step by step. Sometimes, I talked to my friends but they did not understand what I was talking about and they gave me uncomfortable looks. I always sat by myself and watched other people playing and talking. When I went home, I spent five to six hours doing my homework. The loneliness of being without my family and friends covered and submerged me in a lake of sorrow.
No one knows that every night, I cried a lot in my bed. I missed the love of my family, the happily times we were together, and the hugs of my parents. I could not tell my parents because I did not want them to worry about me. I kept all the loneliness and stress from school inside me and became calm and sensitive. I remembered when I was in school, the teacher told the class to do group work; everyone ignored and did not let me join their group. At that time, I really wanted to shout "Why does everyone ignore me? I am not different from you!" but all I had were tears in my heart.
When my parents called me, I lied to them and said everything was going smoothly for me; I met and made lots of friends. I talked to them but the tears in my eyes flowed and I could not control it. At that moment, I also realized my parents also cried and that they said they missed me a lot. That was a deep conversation with my parents, a motivation for me, and I wanted to make my parents proud.
I began to set short term goals for myself and a promise to myself that I would definitely do my best and not give up. Every day, I went to library, searching for the basic English books and began to read. If I did not know the meaning of any of the vocabulary, I looked for the definition and wrote it down in my notebooks to study it. When I felt confident about my reading, I began to try the advance English books. When I went home, I spent about two hours standing in front of the mirror practicing my speaking skills.
After many months trying my best, my English skills increased significantly. I am now able to study in many advanced and challenging courses such as Calculus, honors chemistry and AP U.S History. I could not believe it when I received the honors reward for people who earned 4.0 GPA and higher from the school principal. I know this is just a small successful step and I need to keep myself motivated and push even harder if I want to have higher achievements.
Can you help me fix the grammar as well as ideas for me? thanks :)
Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
Four years ago, I left my country to go to the U.S for a better education and to have a brighter future as my parents' wishes. All alone, leaving my family, friends and without knowing English, I walked to the airport gate and began my journey. After a long day, and communicating with others by hand signs, I finally arrived in San Diego.
On my first day of school in the U.S, I felt alienated. The culture was very different from my country. My first challenge was with English. In school, I studied how to listen, read and write the language step by step. Sometimes, I talked to my friends but they did not understand what I was talking about and they gave me uncomfortable looks. I always sat by myself and watched other people playing and talking. When I went home, I spent five to six hours doing my homework. The loneliness of being without my family and friends covered and submerged me in a lake of sorrow.
No one knows that every night, I cried a lot in my bed. I missed the love of my family, the happily times we were together, and the hugs of my parents. I could not tell my parents because I did not want them to worry about me. I kept all the loneliness and stress from school inside me and became calm and sensitive. I remembered when I was in school, the teacher told the class to do group work; everyone ignored and did not let me join their group. At that time, I really wanted to shout "Why does everyone ignore me? I am not different from you!" but all I had were tears in my heart.
When my parents called me, I lied to them and said everything was going smoothly for me; I met and made lots of friends. I talked to them but the tears in my eyes flowed and I could not control it. At that moment, I also realized my parents also cried and that they said they missed me a lot. That was a deep conversation with my parents, a motivation for me, and I wanted to make my parents proud.
I began to set short term goals for myself and a promise to myself that I would definitely do my best and not give up. Every day, I went to library, searching for the basic English books and began to read. If I did not know the meaning of any of the vocabulary, I looked for the definition and wrote it down in my notebooks to study it. When I felt confident about my reading, I began to try the advance English books. When I went home, I spent about two hours standing in front of the mirror practicing my speaking skills.
After many months trying my best, my English skills increased significantly. I am now able to study in many advanced and challenging courses such as Calculus, honors chemistry and AP U.S History. I could not believe it when I received the honors reward for people who earned 4.0 GPA and higher from the school principal. I know this is just a small successful step and I need to keep myself motivated and push even harder if I want to have higher achievements.
Can you help me fix the grammar as well as ideas for me? thanks :)
