Throughout the circular life, a person experiences different events in different periods of the lifetime. In this memoir I will simply explain a brief description of series stories that acquired to me and I learned from. It is important for anyone to revise his/her life and learn from it, but it is more important to learn from other people mistakes or achievements. Presenting this memoir is a critical step because I had to go through some cultural backgrounds, so people can think about my experiences into a prospective way and hopefully learn from my life. The significance of this project as a whole is determined by what values can we gain and how other people stories can influence our future behavior. Studying here in the United States is the toughest decision I have ever made. I knew that this decision that I had to take will narrow down where I will stand in the near future.
I was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in May 26, 1985, with three siblings and being the youngest in my house. Saudi Arabia is located in the heart of the Middle East representing the heart of all Islamic countries. I was raised and surrounded within an Islamic culture, background and belief. I have practiced all the restriction, of all Islamic Sharea laws that are unlike other religions laws.
The Gulf War in the year of 1990 prompted the first decision I ever experienced in my life. This War has taught me how to take urgent decisions, such as leaving my country to go to the United Kingdom for along period of time. A snap shot of my life emerged and made me wonder about my current life. Through this process I learned that whatever problems or trends I faced might be nothing compare to other people’s problems. It even has thought me not to take anything for granted; therefore, I must have a future plan. While traveling abroad, I have started observing other cultural backgrounds which made me think differently than other people from my country.
Going back to Saudi Arabia and starting a new life was difficult, because after living in the United Kingdom we were exposed to other cultures and religions. Whereas people in my country were only sunnies and there was no mixture of gender. This was not an option for me to choose or change from so I had to finish my high school back in my country the same as my other siblings. After I finished high school, I made my decision to get my bachelors degree from the United States.
September 2003 I arrived to the United States, Boston to be specific. First, I went to the American language academy, which is part of Merrimack College. The school suggested that I should stay with a host family which will help in learn English faster and better. I have never lived with strangers in my life which made it uncomfortable at the beginning. The first struggle I have faced here is doing my laundry, which I have never done before back home. I felt home sick for the first two weeks because I was a way from my parents for the first time and knowing that I will be away for couple of years. The host family were rather strict in keeping their house organized. They use to give me hard time in doing my bed sheet because I did not use to do it. This is a simple example of I have gone through. Time past and made me become more independent and adjust to new things.
In September 2004, I got accepted to Merrimack College as a full time student. My freshman year was loaded with work and over my background expectation. As I got into my sophomore year I became more familiar with the material and work given. One difficulty I have studying here is not having my private tutor, which I really have dependent a lot on during my high school years.
I have started observing night life through clubbing that I have never experience before. This is due to the restriction of our Islamic religion. I started meeting new people and making more friends from different countries with different backgrounds. These experiences have opened a new way of socializing with others and it became a major thing in a weekly basis. This is all forbidden in my country and I do it secretly with out my family knowing. I started drinking alcohol, which is against my religion and I know that I am committing a sin but I have promised myself that I one day I will quit drinking before I leave the United States for good. Drinking or doing anything over the limit might come against me so I always try to be careful with it and make sure it is nothing affecting my daily life.
Living in another place is not an easy task to leave family and friends behind. Not only that, but experiencing a different culture and exposing backgrounds have made it more difficult. I have hard times in time and other good times due to the changes it made in my life. I have really enjoyed living here in some times and almost committed suicide at other times. I have lived different life back home and never had to do my laundry once or do my bed sheet. This is why I was dependable in my family and maids that we have back home. It is usual to see driver and maids and other cooker probably in a typical Saudi Arabian family. This is another reason of having difficulties of the life exposure and experiencing a multicultural country. I have even learned a lot of things and experienced a lot of changes in my daily routines. All of that have enabled me to have a multicultural background and know more history.
After being here in the United States for almost three years, I think that my view of this life is changing day after a day. Now I can make a decision when I face any kind of problems without asking my family for help. I feel that I am growing up, starting to be part of this world and more depended.
Finally as a learning experience, passing through this project thought me a lot of new things that have never came to my mind. From the positive values that I have learned is to have passion in my life to concentrate on. I am starting to learn that this life is not all about having fun, but to me, its about adjusting my time make use of it. Second, is to draw future plan in my mind to follow. Third, is to learn from other mistakes and be cautious not to fall in them. Lastly, is to have guts to continue my personal goal. I realized that these wonderful stories played the major role in crating my moral, ethics and behavior.
The above essay was written by a college student and merely states opinions of a college student. However, if you feel strong about responding to the opinions stated, please write to articles@directorym.com and express your concerns.