Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
... I had no choice. Everything was ready to move - and we did it: my entire family moved from St.Petersburg, Russia to the United States. I vividly remember my first days here. They were totally different from what I had known. It felt like a totally alien place. It was very noisy and very hot. There were smiling people around me, whom I could not understand. My naive thoughts that the English classes I had in Russia would help me. No!
I could not sit at home, although, at first this is just what I wanted to do. And here it goes: welcome to school. Everything is different and even my questions could not help me understand it better: I could not understand the answers. However, as soon as a teacher told me to open a book, everything changes: I understand everything, moreover, I already know much of it. Happiness? Yes, that is what you feel when you finally found your way.
All the home assignments... They still require a lot of work, but... I realize that work becomes easier and easier for me day by day as English becomes more familiar. I begin to understand people on TV, people on the phone, people at school - everybody! Reading becomes a pleasure for me and I start going ahead of the class in it.
Although I am doing well academically and have quickly assimilated into the American culture, I wish I could be more active in extracurricular activities. I marvel at the students around me who can excel in their schoolwork and also be active in athletics and clubs. Coming into a small school system in the middle of the 11lh grade year has been a detriment for me getting involved. I hope to change that and I am focusing on a little bit at a time although always pushing forward. I am active, enthusiastic and energetic - all the qualities that I hope to demonstrate more with time. Language barrier? Cultural barrier? Nothing can prevent me from striving to be the best. I am happy to be here and looking forward to my new challenges.
Who said I had no choice?