I was born in Misawa, Japan. I moved to St. Mary’s County, Maryland, when I was 3 years old. My dad was deployed for months at a time but I was too young to really understand where he went or when he would be back. My brother always said I was the lucky one, my dad was always there on my birthday and holidays, while he, rarely saw my dad in his childhood. It was rough, knowing my dad was in Iraq, Afghanistan, and under the ocean, during a war, but for some reason, I never had the thought that he wouldn’t come home. I stayed strong for him and for my family, even though I was in elementary school. I love that my dad was in the Navy for 21 years. I have always been proud of him. His success and determination is what pushes me forward to succeed..
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We were very close knit. We did a lot of family activities like going to the movies and playing board games. The biggest factor however, was that my folks were still together, which, in this day in age, is rare. I knew that my family dynamic was a big impact on making me into who I am today. Sometimes, I don’t think they realize it. The middle of my sophomore year, I decided that I wanted to study abroad. If there was any chance for me to get out of St. Mary’s County, I found it. I didn’t want the normal “high school experience” I wanted to take a different path from those at my school. I didn’t know how to bring up the situation with my parents about me studying abroad. I felt like they wouldn’t want me to go because we were so close. I made a Powerpoint of the pros and cons of studying abroad.
We are a middle class family, I never asked for much, but when I did, my parents rarely said no. Even though they rarely tell me “no,” I was amazed when they said yes. They agreed as long as I helped raise the money. Money in our family was never tight. At least my parent never let on to money being tight. The trip was $17,000 for 11 months abroad. I did everything I could to help out my parents because I didn’t want to burden them or stress them out; I raised almost $6,000, received two scholarships totally $3,000, and my parents paid the …show more content…
I was independent and on my own in Italy and it was great. I knew I was changing physically and mentally. I was growing up and experiencing a whole other world that I never knew existed. I always knew there was more to the world than St. Mary’s and I found it. I met people from all over the world, I wasn’t just educated in Italian culture, but I was also lucky enough to experience: Norwegian, Australian, German, Chilean, Brazilian, Costa Rican, and so many more. I would recommend studying abroad to anyone because it really creates a sense of purpose in one’s life, at least, it did for me. I never felt like I mattered, but this experience changed how I felt about
We were very close knit. We did a lot of family activities like going to the movies and playing board games. The biggest factor however, was that my folks were still together, which, in this day in age, is rare. I knew that my family dynamic was a big impact on making me into who I am today. Sometimes, I don’t think they realize it. The middle of my sophomore year, I decided that I wanted to study abroad. If there was any chance for me to get out of St. Mary’s County, I found it. I didn’t want the normal “high school experience” I wanted to take a different path from those at my school. I didn’t know how to bring up the situation with my parents about me studying abroad. I felt like they wouldn’t want me to go because we were so close. I made a Powerpoint of the pros and cons of studying abroad.
We are a middle class family, I never asked for much, but when I did, my parents rarely said no. Even though they rarely tell me “no,” I was amazed when they said yes. They agreed as long as I helped raise the money. Money in our family was never tight. At least my parent never let on to money being tight. The trip was $17,000 for 11 months abroad. I did everything I could to help out my parents because I didn’t want to burden them or stress them out; I raised almost $6,000, received two scholarships totally $3,000, and my parents paid the …show more content…
I was independent and on my own in Italy and it was great. I knew I was changing physically and mentally. I was growing up and experiencing a whole other world that I never knew existed. I always knew there was more to the world than St. Mary’s and I found it. I met people from all over the world, I wasn’t just educated in Italian culture, but I was also lucky enough to experience: Norwegian, Australian, German, Chilean, Brazilian, Costa Rican, and so many more. I would recommend studying abroad to anyone because it really creates a sense of purpose in one’s life, at least, it did for me. I never felt like I mattered, but this experience changed how I felt about