Going Abroad by Kassandra

Going Abroad by Kassandra - July 2015 Scholarship Essay

Growing up, I’ve always knew I was a little different than most kids. I kept to myself and watched different styled cartoons, listened to non-English music, and celebrated different holidays that weren’t exactly American things. I remembered it started when I was about four or five, I saw this cartoon that was not like the rest. It was then that I realized my life is going to be little different.

As time went on, I had watched other shows similar to the one I saw. Which led me to finding out what this cartoon type was called, anime. Anime was a huge influence on my life growing up, and that one show led me to another show, and another, and eventually led me to Japanese music and Korean music. The love I had for these things led me to wanting to learn more. It was then I started to learn about Japanese, and Korean culture. It fascinated me how different these other countries were from mine. Maybe it was the lifestyle, the music, the historic landmarks, the history, or maybe even the artwork. I found these things to be quite interesting.

Throughout my middle school and high school careers I’ve always dreamt of going to Japan or South Korea to see what it was like. Being confined to my computer or books wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to see for myself what it was really like to be there. To be able to see the sites, meet the locals, and to learn more about their language and culture. I knew then that I had to work hard to be able to go.

After graduating high school my health took a turn for worse. I had to put Japan and South Korea on hold while I had to recover. I never thought my health would be in the way of my dreams and goals. When this happened I didn’t think I would be able to go abroad at all. After 2 surgeries and many months of recovery and trying all different types of medication I was finally back on my feet. Though, what I have will never go away as it is a lifetime illness. I still had to keep going forward towards my dreams. Japan and South Korea were in my sights once more.

I had been accepted into Texas Woman’s University after all of my health issues had calm down. I learned after my first orientation that Texas Woman’s had a study abroad program. I was elated with excitement! Not only did the education abroad program have an amazing program, but they also had connections with South Korea and Japan. You can say that my biggest goal in college is to go study abroad. Whether, it is for one semester, or a full year. Going abroad to study is what I hope to accomplish in college before I graduate. This has been my goal since I was little, and I know that I will accomplish it. I know that with Texas Woman’s help, and also with the help of applying for many scholarships I hope to go abroad very soon.