My Educational Life

My educational life changed drastically after I came to the United States. I remember the first time I heard that I could study in the United States. I thought it would be like China. I didn't know what would happen in the future. When I left for Chicago, it saddened my parents that they would not see me for about one year. The decision to study in the United States changed my perspective on education including choosing classes, American learning style, and teamwork.

The first time I contacted an American school, the biggest issue I had to deal with was choosing my classes. For my first instinct, I felt that studying in the United States was a really troublesome thing. Before I chose classes, I had a test that would confirm my level. After this test, the teacher told me that I could study in this college, and then I needed to choose classes according to what I wanted to learn. Then I needed to think about which classes that I wanted to take, and which classes that I needed to take. However, my Chinese friends told me that they couldn’t choose the classes that they wanted to study in China, and they could only follow the schedule. Additionally, I needed to buy textbooks for my classes, and students didn’t need to buy the books in China; the school would give us these when we registered.

 

Another difference between my Chinese school and my American school is the way that the American school makes me so relaxed. In our classrooms, students are allowed to drink, eat something, and even use our cell phone for the dictionary. In addition, classroom discussions are very free, and students can ask questions at any moment in class. I never felt this way in China. Moreover, I even created a club that named Global Student Club with my friends at school. The purpose of the club was for international students to improve their English, and also we invited some English speakers to join us. Furthermore, members could meet more people in this club. This club is just like my little world. I feel relieved when I meet my friends there. All of this let me feel free and joyful, because I have never thought about joining a club, let alone creating a club when I was in China.

In addition to feeling more relaxed, I have also learned about the value of teamwork. In my first semester, my teacher taught me the meaning of teamwork. In China, my teachers always told me that I should try to finish questions by myself. In America, my teachers told me that I should finish questions with my classmates. Not only that, when I supervised my club, I also learned that how to talk with the members and I think this skill also can help me in the future. I never thought about it while I was living China because I didn’t realize how important the personal relationships were.

Therefore, I have changed a lot since I came to America, not just in my daily life, but also in my educational life. Although I am not the most serious student at school, I believe that I will become more serious in my studies. In my future educational life, I will use the teamwork skills that I learned from classes. I heard someone say that college was just like a small society, so I can learn plenty of knowledge before I go into the real world.