Generally, people may change their lifestyles, characteristics or even their pursuits
when they integrate into a new place. Since people do not regard their new place only
as a location on the map in terms of geographic meaning, they develop their
experiences, emotions and memories when they change a space into a place. Thus,
when people recognize a community with different emotions, they accept most parts
of this place to a certain degree. Gradually, people will be affected by some particular
characteristics of their place, and the same group of people in one place will become
distinctive based on their characteristics.
I have also been affected by the culture and traditions of a new place — the United
States — where I have been studying for almost one year. The United States has
changed my initial mindset and reshaped my characteristics, lifestyle and pursuits. As
my memoir mentions, I will argue that my characteristics have changed, because now
I have become more independent and considerate through comparing the childish
behaviors of when I arrived at Emory University at first and those mature behaviors
that I display after one year campus life. Besides, I will also claim that my lifestyle has
developed because of the influence of America. Compared to my lifestyle before I went
to America, now I have enlarged my circle of friends and have gained a better social
life. Furthermore, I will also affirm that my pursuit has also been changed. Instead of
pursuing a simple life limited to my hometown, now I would like to immigrate to
America with my whole family. Therefore, the United States has reshaped me in three
ways, regarding characteristics, lifestyle and pursuits.
The United States has changed my
characteristics from dependence and
selfishness into self-reliance and
consideration. For example, I state in the
memoir that when I encountered difficulties
after I arrived on the campus, I could not
deal with the problems by myself and
behaved childishly. I was not concerned
with the feelings of my parents and I complained and hurt them. However, after I
underwent a lot of experiences in America, such as volunteering in a primary school, I
began to change my characteristics. For example, I began to prepare for everything by
myself, and I also began to comfort myself when I faced the challenges. Instead of
complaining about other people, I began to figure out the solutions to solve the problems. From these behaviors that I describe in the memoir, they reveal that I have become more independent and strong. Furthermore, after I heard that my father was ill, “I suddenly realized… I always depended on them, but they could not depend on me. It was the first time I felt so nervous and terrified of being childish” (Ding 4). I began to realize that I should become more considerate and independent, and this realization is attributed to the influence of America.
characteristics from dependence and
selfishness into self-reliance and
consideration. For example, I state in the
memoir that when I encountered difficulties
after I arrived on the campus, I could not
deal with the problems by myself and
behaved childishly. I was not concerned
with the feelings of my parents and I complained and hurt them. However, after I
underwent a lot of experiences in America, such as volunteering in a primary school, I
began to change my characteristics. For example, I began to prepare for everything by
myself, and I also began to comfort myself when I faced the challenges. Instead of
complaining about other people, I began to figure out the solutions to solve the problems. From these behaviors that I describe in the memoir, they reveal that I have become more independent and strong. Furthermore, after I heard that my father was ill, “I suddenly realized… I always depended on them, but they could not depend on me. It was the first time I felt so nervous and terrified of being childish” (Ding 4). I began to realize that I should become more considerate and independent, and this realization is attributed to the influence of America.
The United States has also changed my lifestyle and influenced me to have a better social life and enlarge my circle of friends. When I arrived at Emory on orientation day, I recalled that I was so timid that I did not communicate with other students. As my friend in the orientation group said, “… I really wanted to become your friend on the first orientation day, and all of [the orientation group] really [likes] you. Sometimes you are so quiet, and you did not engage in our group” (Ding 2). It was the truth and the reason that I always felt lonely in the past, because I did not engage in other students’ activities, and I did not share common experiences with them. Fortunately, I met kind American friends, and I began to change my lifestyle to become more sociable. For example, “I also began to attend social activities with other students, such as volunteering in a primary school” (Ding 3). As a result of this change of lifestyle, I engaged more in campus life and began to open up my eyes to integrate into the new community.
Furthermore, the United States has also changed my pursuits from dreaming of staying in my hometown to dreaming of immigrating to America. This change is so significant because it influences my life path in the future. Even my parents cannot believe that I made this kind of decision after my one-year life in America. Two years ago when I was in high school, “... all I wanted and dreamed at that time was really simple. I just wanted to be a simple girl, and to become a free-lance writer in order to work at home and live with my parents” (Ding 1). However, “... on my twentieth birthday, I wished that I could establish a business in America and live there with my parents.” (Ding 4) This change in my dream depends somewhat on the change in my characteristics and lifestyle. Since I was limited to my small social circle in the past, I did not want to go outside and communicate with other people, so I dreamed of being a free-lance writer to work at home. However, after I became more sociable and enjoyed activities with others, I changed my mind and chose to major in business, and I would like to establish my company in the future. Since I depended on my parents too much and did not want to share responsibilities with my family, I always dreamed of coming back to China and staying with them. Although I still want to stay with them, I would like to “take care of others and make my parents and friends depend on me”. Through the change of my pursuit, the influence of America helps me figure out that I would like this place to become part of my dream.
Developing a relationship between myself and my place is a time-consuming process, and the United States indeed reshaped my characteristics, lifestyles, and dreams. Under the effect of America, I became more independent, strong, and considerate. I began to explore the social life and loved the lifestyle in America. More importantly, now I changed my dream, and I really would like to immigrate to America with my family because I really like the way that America has influenced me. As the last part of my memoir states, “I believe that studying in America was the smartest decision I made in my whole life.” (Ding 4) America, my new place, has reshaped me to be a better person.
Citation:
Maxresdefault. July 31, 2013. Emory University, Atlanta. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh70E4hKTog.
External Image Immigration. 2014. American Reactions Towards Immigration. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <https://apush-wiki-marlborough-school.wikispaces.com/American+Reactions+Towards+Immigration>.
Editorial Revision. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://annawrites.com/blog/tag/editorial-revision/>.
Emory-gate. Emory University, Atlanta. Accessed December 4, 2014. http://www.oirpe.emory.edu/Assessment/.
America-China. 2014. The Coming Chinese EMP Attack Upon America. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://www.torn-republic.com/2014/04/the-coming-chinese-emp-attack-upon.html>.
Citation:
Maxresdefault. July 31, 2013. Emory University, Atlanta. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh70E4hKTog.
External Image Immigration. 2014. American Reactions Towards Immigration. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <https://apush-wiki-marlborough-school.wikispaces.com/American+Reactions+Towards+Immigration>.
Editorial Revision. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://annawrites.com/blog/tag/editorial-revision/>.
Emory-gate. Emory University, Atlanta. Accessed December 4, 2014. http://www.oirpe.emory.edu/Assessment/.
America-China. 2014. The Coming Chinese EMP Attack Upon America. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://www.torn-republic.com/2014/04/the-coming-chinese-emp-attack-upon.html>.