Studying Abroad

Name: Alexandra Jara

MY GREATEST SUCCESS SO FAR

INTRODUCTION

Thesis Statement:  I consider that studying abroad is the greatest success I have had in life so far since it helped me in different aspects of my life, I became more open-minded, confident, but most importantly, I understood the incredible importance that family and friends have.

BODY PARAGRAPH

Body paragraph 1

Topic Sentence 1: Going and living in a complete new country broaden my vision of the world.

• Main idea 1: On my first day in America, not only did I meet local students, but international students as well.

Detail: There were students from China, Ukraine, Canada, Korea, and so on.

• Main idea 2: Getting to know all those cultural differences was mind-blowing and being exposed to all of them made me more open-minded.

Detail: By the end of the academic exchange, I am pretty sure that every single one of us had become more understanding with each other countries and were amazed with our differences.

Body paragraph 2

Topic Sentence 2: Studying abroad also help me to boost my self-confidence.

• Main idea 1: I was living in an English speaking country and it helped develop my skills.

Detail: I had to take 4 classes in English and we had assignments every single week, but that was okay with it.

• Main idea 2: Almost at the end of the semester, I also had presentations and being in front of a whole English speaking class, which help me a lot with my communication skills

Detail: During the first presentation, I was really nervous, but my professors’ reassuring words, I could successfully finish all of them.

Body paragraph 3

Topic sentence 3: One of the most important things that happened to me during this time abroad was that I started to appreciate family and friends even more than I did before.

• Main idea 1: We, as a family, used to eat together every single Sunday, so I missed that.

Detail: Looking at other students and their families made me homesick.

• Main idea 2: When it comes to my friends, by being abroad, I realized who my real friends were and how important they were to me.

Detail: My best friend and I did not talk every day, she was always checking on me, which made me feel happy.

CONCLUSION

MY GREATEST SUCCESS SO FAR

Success can be defined in several different ways. Some people might believe it is about having wealth, some other might argue it is not about abundance of resources, but about beating the odds and being passionate about what you do. However you define success, it is very personal and varies from person to person since what is most important for someone might be less important to others. Success to me is about accomplishing something that you once invested a lot of effort in, whether it is something big or small, and you learn from it. Last year, I had the amazing opportunity to travel abroad and become an exchange student in America. I consider that studying abroad is the greatest success I have had in life so far since it helped me in different aspects of my life, I became more knowledgeable, confident, but most importantly, I understood the incredible importance that family and friends have.