Hardship and Challenge of a Non-American

Hardship/challenge I have responded to

Now I am in my final semester at Central Texas College and looking back to the time when I started here in Texas. First there was the idea of coming here. But an idea is abstract and always sounds good. The concrete challenge was to have a successful start at an American college.

I needed:

Visa, Financial Support Statement, admission at CTC, an airplane ticket, a place to live,

and especially the money to finance all of that.

While finishing my high school education in Germany, I also had to work on weekends, holidays and school breaks to save as much money as I could get. My parents always said that they would support me as much as possible but this support was a mental rather than financial support. Still, I did not want to give up my dream to come here and experience the American way of life and receive an education that would accelerate my career in the field of communication. I just had to come here, no matter what.

The last day of my high school time was also the first day of my temporary full time job at a big company in the area I live in Germany. I started my work at 5:45 am every morning and worked nine hours a day and on the weekends I worked at a local hospital helping older people during lunch time.

Of course I was tired, but I had a goal and nothing could stop me from reaching it. I woke up with the number in my head hat told me how many euros I could earn in the following hours and how much further it would bring me to my desired education in America.

Yes, I felt an extreme relief when I saw my bank statement and the numbers where letters that said," Your future lays ahead of you, just reach for it."

Then, on August 23, I left Germany. I cried like a baby. I knew I am going to miss my parents and my older brother. Even now, when I write about that moment, I have tears in my eyes because I miss them so much. But writing this letter also gives me pride in what I have accomplishid.