F.+Midterm+Essay

Midterm Essay

Dear Alex, Do you still remember when you were going to school in Germany last year? Your grades were not phenomenal and mom always wanted you to set priorities in life, so you can focus on what is really important. However, you spent too much time on the internet and communicating with friends, that you forgot to take care of school related issues. Now, after 5 months in the United States, the departure and the start of school in Germany seems to get closer every day. Although the 11th grade is not an easy ride, you will have a great next school year because of a less stressful schedule, a bigger knowledge of languages and science, and more self-confidence.

Your everyday life will be back to the German standarts, but this is nothing to be nervous about. The American A-B block schedule is very tiring, especially since you have less time to accomplish big assignments. In the United States, your school day does not give you the flexibility that you know from Germany. Homework has to be finished the same day it was assigned if you do not want to struggle with the time. However, do not forget that the German school systems differs a lot from the American. There each school day is different and you have certain subjects like Biology or Chemistry just twice a week while subjects like German or Math take 5 lessons during a regular week. So if you get an assignment for Biology you do not have to worry about it the same day because you have a whole week to finish it! A look at your American grades tells me that you even do well with a tighter schedule than what you are used to from your home country. There should not be any worries about your daily life in school since you have a lot more time to get projects done. Another fact is that there are no school sports in Germany. There is no competitive aspect at German schools. You participated in Volleyball and you are trying out for your High school’s soccer team. Both after-school activities cost you a lot of energy and time during the week. Volleyball practice was every day and on game days you were not home before 7pm. You were struggling at first with the amount of homework and your body being unusually tired, but it will change when you come back home. There is no High School sports team that you are committed to and your body will have more time to rest. However, you found a good way how to combine sports and education in America and that is the reason why you will not struggle with a less stressful schedule.

Since you arrived in the United States, the only language you speak is English. Your vocabulary horizon has “widened” and you even refused to speak German with the exchange students from your home country. The English language has become second nature to you and you realized that you are fluent in it when you started to think in English. You had the opportunity to strengthen your English like no one else back in Germany. A foreign language is not foreign to you anymore and when you go back to school in Dresden, you will glow with your bright English and languages should not be a problem for you. Alex, I know how much you dislike subjects like Chemistry or Physics, but you will have to take them for the next two years. However, you did not lose the connection to the sciences because you took a pause of it and went abroad. You actually learned more about the different aspects of science than you would in Germany. You took Oceanography because there is no subject like that where you come from and you saw the opportunity to learn about things that others might never know of. The great part of your choice is that Oceanography combines all kinds of sciences and you can learn its biological or chemical aspects in a different way than taking Chemistry. Your fear of being behind is groundless because you will come back with a brighter scientific knowledge than most of the students in Germany. This is a great advantage, just make use of it!

If there is one thing that you can be sure of, then it is the self-confidence that has grown immensely with you being in the United States. The first days you came here you did not know anybody and you just wrote a couple of emails to your host parents before your departure. But you never feared the challenge because this year is the one you always dreamed of. You went to your first Volleyball practice just 3 days after your arrival and it did not go well. However, you told yourself to be strong, to do whatever it takes to be successful and make new friends. You started going to practice more often and you started to get along with the people that were skeptical at first. Now after 5 months you have made some real good friends, from Volleyball, from several of your classes, and you seem fit perfectly into the soccer team. You started a new life beginning from zero, but you took your chances to be appreciated and beloved. Your parents tell you every time that they are proud of you. You handled a difficult situation that most of the teenagers would not even go for. You showed yourself that you can accomplish great things and make new friends everywhere. You left your family and relatives for a whole year to experience the American way of life. It is a big sacrifice that you had to make for your dream. When you arrived in the United States, you did not know your host parents very well and you had to adjust to completely new surroundings. However you handled the situation and you were able to become part of a new family that you never knew before. You opened yourself for the world and you learned how to participate in the American family life. Your self-confidence tells you that you can do anything you want. For you, sky is the limit.

Alex, never forget what your strengths are! This exchange year is a big life challenge, but it has shown that you can even do well in school while having the pressure of being left to cope on your own. Your conscience might be of the opinion that you will fall back to old habits of wasting time instead of studying and end up struggling in your in your final years of school. However, this will not happen because you will be changed, experienced, and definitely more mature by the time you get back home. Alex, there is no reason to be anxious about the future! You are going to take more and more responsibility on your way to college, but if you are brave enough to leave all your friends and family, then you are ready for the 11th grade in Germany. Just follow the words of your mom and “set priorities”! Get the important school work done first, so you can relax and contact your friends afterwards without any pressure!