Narrative essay

Growing up, I always felt safe in all of the situations I had to face, with family and friends that always was present and had my back. But after graduating high school all of this was about to change. People got jobs, accepted to schools and moved, including me. I was going to College. My parents were really excited for me and sometimes it almost felt like I did it for them, since they saw this as a huge opportunity. Finally, I decided to go and give it a chance. Although, this was decided almost a year before my move, I was still really nervous and anxious as the day of my move came closer. I was about to leave my family, friends, teammates, home and culture behind and move to another country. A country with a different type of language, food and people than I was used to. I was about to get a fresh start where I had no friends, learn a new culture and make myself feel like home. As you can imagine this is a very overwhelming feeling at the age of nineteen. But as Willa Cather once said, “there are some things that you learn best in calm, and some in storm,” and I believe that she is right.

               At first, it was hard to make friends, learn how to find places and adapt to another culture, without your family by your side there to support you. The first time of College resulted in a lot of new impressions and faces. I got to meet my new teammates, roommates, find my way around campus and at the same time try to keep up with a new language. To my surprise, people were really friendly, helpful and accommodating. For instance, people came up to me and said things like “Hi, how are you?” or “Hey, how is it going”, something I noticed was very different from my home country. The weeks went by fast and I had already made a lot of new friends and started to feel more like home.

                 However, it is now the week before winter break and the first semester is almost done. Reflecting over my first term here, I realized how happy I am that I actually moved. I am grateful for the people I have met, the places I got to visit and all of the experiences I have got.

                 Ever since I came to De Pere and St. Norbert College I have learned to take responsibility, deal with problems and to do things by myself, without family or friends that normally would have helped me in similar situations. Even though, it has been rough sometimes, being far away from the ones you love, I believe that I have learned more about life, the world and myself these three months than I have done in three years.

                  In conclusion, I really do agree with Willa Cather. If I would not have dared to move and go to St. Norbert College, I would never have got this many friends, experiences or knowledge that I now have, both about life and myself.