Personal Essay

Personal Essay
Bongho Choi

 
Three thousand miles from home, in a matter of a mere three and a half hours, once I had set foot in Texas the outlook of my future drastically changed. With my I pod on my right hand, and my tour bag to my left, together we stepped into this new environment as if we were explorers in awe of the new land. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, it was the first time I had ever crossed the boarder to the great country of the United States, let alone Texas. Leaving behind my friends, my relatives, and my heritage, I knew the transition would be a difficult one. Nevertheless without my family by my side, I stood up to the colossal challenge and did the best we could to shape it into a better opportunity for our future.
It was tough for me to adapt during the first couple of months that I was here. I had a difficult time trying to blend in with people in Texas. I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. Being born and raised in Gwang-Ju, Korea for eighteen years, “Korean” was written all over me.   I already began to miss my old home, as well as all my friends. I was fairly depressed that I could not see my best buddies so often anymore, especially when I needed their support the most. On top of that it was extremely difficult for me to make new friends. Enrolling in the language class, everyone at school already had their own clicks, and I was not really sure where I could fit in. However, the most disheartening time for me was to call my parents, because I missed that so much. Since I had moved, it was not doing so well and I started to have second thoughts if moving to Texas was the right decision.
I constantly reminded myself, to gut through all the hardships and burdens that surrounded me, and in time, hopefully the overall outlook would get brighter. Soon enough I came to realize that people in Texas were not much different from people back home in Korea. I started to feel more comfortable around people, especially because...