Personal Reflection

To whom that cares!!!

At this moment when i am sitting down here writting this, I suddenly think of this time last year when I was fresh out of highschool, hearing about Berea for the first time. I sent my application to Berea with lots of confidence and hope, and I knew I was not accepted. College to me, as much as to many others, is so important. At the time I heard the news of my being denied, I was dissappointed, but soon I realized that my failure was just among the many challenges that anybody has to face during their lifetime. Further more, I happened to know, later on, about the two other Vietnamese who were accepted. Having known that hardly ever more than one student from each country is accepted to Berea, I was so proud to know that the ability of Vietnamese students has been recognized and that, despite of the fact that our country still faces many dificulties, the students have been trying to reach high goals.

In Vietnamese proverbs, we have this saying :" A day one goes, a sea of knowledge he earns". By this time, I have realized how true it is. Last year, I was an exchange student in a highschool in Mississippi. That was the first time I went overseas. Although, before this trip, I was quite used to living independently because I had to live without my mom for almost 7 years during the time she went to work in Poland. However, my first trip abroad was something totally new and different. I was first met by a very different country and her people. I gradually got used to everything and felt that those adaptations

I had made also came with growth in my maturity.

When mentioning about maturity, I am quite sure about what I am talking. Obviously, I still am a long way from being an adult who has gone through enough hardships in life to have the right to jugdement on life. However, I believe that the ten months I was away from my homeland, from my family, I now look at my life and future with a very serious and subjective point of view. If I had not been in the U.S, I would never have known of an eventful U.S senior year in highschool, and the people, the lifestyle there. Also, I realized how poor Vietnam is. Am I proud of my country? Yes, I very am