I was afraid of the culture shock I was set to experience after landing at the airport, leaving behind my family and friends to pursue an education at the Auburn University in the United States. Being Chinese, I expected to encounter a series of challenges caused by my inability to speak fluent English and overcome various challenges affecting me in my immediate environment. However, I was eager to interact with other students and focus on developing a healthy relationship that would help me fit in the new environment. My first encounter with foreign culture made me miss home because of the unfamiliar lifestyles that hindered my perspectives towards the new life.
Despite being skeptical at first, I made friends whose bond is still firm up to date. I am always viewed as an outlier who explores solutions that fall outside the box. My ability to see things differently has earned me a fair share of friends and enemies. However, I love to focus on friendship because of its impact on my perspectives towards life. I have made many friends outside my culture who have enabled me to develop different views on life. Through my interactions with other people, my understanding on life has broadened and I have learned the importance of tolerating other cultures.
As a 22-year-old, many people, including my parents, look up to me for insights on different issues taking place on the global stage. Although my heritage is in mainland China, I feel the United States has been a great host to me in its ability to accommodate my diverse views on life. The learning environment promotes freethinkers who can identify problems and develop viable solutions that resonate with the changing needs of the world today. Addressing these issues present an exciting opportunity for me to draw insights and apply them in my interactions with other individuals.
Apart from the different issues affecting cultural integration in the United States, I have learned the need to embrace tolerance and use the skill to influence other people’s opinions. In my experience at Auburn, I have mastered the significance of developing a diverse school of thought that allows individuals to discover their potential and rise above their situations. Likewise, instructors’ approaches in the learning environment provoke my thought process and encourage me to explore various issues that can be used to overcome challenges affecting people in their surroundings. Thus, exposing young people to an enabling environment where they can discover their potential promotes a smooth transition from one generation to another.
My first encounter with foreign culture made me miss home because of the unfamiliar lifestyles that hindered my perspectives towards the new life. I have held these memories to act as a reminder whenever I am going astray continually. There is a need to maintain my identity because of its ability to define my personality. I appreciate the efforts put in place by instructors in my institution to expose me to an enabling environment where I can discover my potential and accomplish my goals. I am confident that my determination will enable me to realize the need to achieve my dreams by aligning my interests with the changing needs of individuals in my surroundings.