I remember my first evening at Mississippi State University last August. I remember the thousands of thoughts running through my head and that peculiar feeling which sailors and conquistadors probably had when they discovered new lands. It was excitement from the undiscovered-the feeling you have when it’s the first time you’ve been 8,000 miles from home.
Now, the two short semesters are almost over, and the time to say goodbye has come. I got my airline tickets to travel back home, and I have my incredible experience and precious memories to take with me.
While studying in the United States on an exchange program, I have understood several important things. First, life is full of opportunities waiting for you to take them. Second, you are capable to do anything you desire if you can accept the consequences. Finally, I learned that I am an extremely lucky person. But this is another long story I will tell to my future grandchildren.
Of course, I faced obstacles and challenges and made mistakes. It didn’t come without misunderstandings and homesickness. But the mistakes were there for me to learn who I am. And the negative things faded in the light of the new and positive things. There always seems to be more good things in our lives. One’s objective is to learn to see that.
I was born in a small town called “Little Switzerland” due to its picturesque mountains in former U.S.S.R. Republic Kazakhstan. My mother raised me, and she taught me to believe in myself and show respect to others. I am getting an international law degree in my country, and I came to America to study international business.
I have met wonderful people who became my family; I have friends for life here. I enjoyed the Southern hospitality and America’s democracy and diversity. I had almost all the possible and seemingly impossible experiences one could ever have.
I shook hands with Mickey Mouse in Orlando, Fla., and enjoyed street performances in New Orleans. I was delighted with a view from the 89th floor of the Empire State Building in New York City and admired endless cotton fields in the Deep South near Greenwood. I almost froze to death at Niagara Falls and got stuck somewhere between Time Square and Central Park in New York on New Year’s morning. I took a picture with a security guard near the White House and cheered at an NBA game in Washington, D.C.
I absorbed American culture every day-be it celebrating Thanksgiving with my family or reading “Entrepreneurs’ Guide” for my business class. Looking back at the past academic year, I can say with confidence that I grew personally and professionally.
So what did I get for myself from all of it? Definitely, there are a lot of unconquered places left. And no matter who you are, what language you speak and what god you believe, basic human values are the same across the world. I am sincerely glad that MSU was my choice, and I am happy I had a chance to meet everybody I met here.
You live in the world’s most powerful country. Build the future so your kids will be proud and thankful for you later.
Open your mind. Search your heart. Know what you want. Follow your dreams. It is definitely worth it. Discover the world for yourself. I discovered America for myself this year. And the good thing is that the adventure has just begun.