My father had the opportunity to attend college at the University of Texas at Austin. Having had a marvelous learning experience, he persuaded me to begin my college career in a different country. I liked the idea from the start; I knew that by coming to this country I would receive a better education. On the other hand, I was afraid of not being able to fit in the highly complex and diverse American society. I grew up in a closed society that shared the same interests and background. I had no experience when it came to interacting with people from different backgrounds. My father knew me well; he understood my fears, and came up with something that gave me the strength to start this new journey. He told me that somewhere in the Bible, Christ said, “ no one is a prophet in their homeland.” My father was right; when I left my country, I did not know that I was about to begin the most important learning experience I have had so far. Not so much in terms of facts and numbers, but in terms of how people affect our lives.

During my first semester in college, I did not know that many people. I had recently moved to Austin, and all of my friends and family stayed in Mexico.

Friendships also made me realize that stereotypes are not always true. Ted tells me that he is a black man trapped in a white man’s body. I find this to be true, he always comes up with phrases like, “Pajama rama word to your momma, listen up because it’s time to planna” when planning a pajama party. He loves playing football and he listens to hip hop music. On the other hand, one of my best friends is Black, and instead of playing sports like football or basketball, and listen to rap or hip hop music, he teaches himself the Arabic language and listens to middle eastern music. Every time I hear Nick talks about the Arabic Culture, I see a smile on his face. Even though most if my friend’s family have different interests than him, he has the courage to keep doing what he likes. I am pretty sure that his parents would prefer if were to marry a person from their similar ethnic background, but Nick tells me that he would love to spend the rest of his life with a middle eastern girl. His example has made me realize that in order to be happy and fulfilled I need to be doing what I like. I admire Nick’s courage to stick to his values and his interests. I began analyzing myself, and I realized that my family and friends influenced a lot of my interests; I was fol

Some topics in this essay:
Ted Peterson, Arabic Culture, Texas Austin, Bible Christ, Friendships Country, Men’s Catholic, hip hop music, lots people, University Texas, opportunity meet lots, meet lots people, middle eastern, people backgrounds, opportunity meet, meet lots, learning experience, single person, hop music, hip hop, stereotypes true,