A 6,000-mile Journey by Morteza

A 6,000-mile Journey by Morteza - March 2017 Scholarship Essay

Today, I want to share a story with you; a story I´ve never told anyone before. I don’t know if you have ever read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This book tells the story of a young shepherd that leaves everything behind and starts a new journey and builds his own destiny or as the book suggests, his personal legend. And now, I want to share my own legend with you.
I was blessed to born into a well-educated and supportive family in Tehran, Iran. From the earliest time I can remember, my parents have provided me with valuable advice but yet enough freedom to identify and pursue my interests. By realizing my passion for engineering and my dream of joining one of world’s best engineering schools, my parents again demonstrated their boundless love by supporting my decision to move to the United States and thereafter, the greatest adventure of my life began.
I well remember the moment I got off the plane on 28th June 2016 and stepped on the U.S. soil for the first time. While struggling to move my heavy suitcases around, I was filled with a genuine excitement. I felt that a whole new world has opened in front of me; a world filled with opportunities to be discovered. However, it did not take long before my initial excitement started to fade under the shadow of numerous concerns about difficulties of my ambitious adventure. What if I was not ready for this huge step? What if I would never blend in? What if I cannot achieve the dream that has been keeping me awake every night and dragged me 6,000 miles? I could not stop thinking about these issues but I knew these fears were the only things that could make my dreams impossible.
I was homesick for a couple of weeks, questioning my decision to leave my comfortable lifestyle in my home country to start a new life from the scratch in the United States. I missed my friends, family, classmates, and even my neighbors. However, I was armed with a great ambition and determination to achieve my goals; a force much greater than my fear of failure. Giving up was not in my spirit and I had to continue no matter how difficult the life could get or how lonely I may possibly feel during my new adventure. I kept reminding myself of my goals and the successful future that can be made possible by this temporary hardship. I started reading and watching inspirational stories about my role models in science and engineering to feed and strengthen my determination. After all, despite their genius, all my role models seemed to have gone through a difficult journey involving many moments of despair and failure before meeting their goals.
Apart from my initial homesickness and reluctance, my eagerness and willpower helped me in overcoming the new challenges appearing gradually due to differences between the United States and my country of origin. Initially, everything from the format of lectures and assessments at school to the basic communications appeared to be drastically different to what I was used to. However, I believed in my capabilities and it did not take long before I figured out that the differences are mainly superficial and there are no or little fundamental differences. I managed to adapt to the new system very quickly and I owe this greatly to the support of my caring teachers and counselors at school who seemed to understand the difficulties of relocating to another country. In less than a month, I started to enjoy school so much that I could not wait for the next day to start.
Overall, despite the initial difficulties and continuing challenges, my move to the United States has turned out to an enjoyable and impactful experience. This adventure taught me to be BOLD regardless of the barriers. While reminding me to fix my eyes on the rewarding part of the journey, this adventure taught me to enjoy my life. Adapting to a new lifestyle, speaking a new language, and getting hold of a new educational system with new requirements have all been only some of the challenges in my ambitious adventure. I, however, believe that facing these challenges are the most rewarding part as it allows me to reflect on my life with a new perspective.
I am not standing here, in front of you, just to tell you a story. I am here because I want YOU to find YOUR own legends. I want YOU to go out and each seek your very own journey that not only makes your life but also others’ lives, meaningful; A journey to change a life in a better way. This is the purpose that turns this black and white, ordinary life to a vibrant life-long journey. I urge you to be BOLD regardless of how huge or how hard the barriers are to overcome. And as my last advice, I want you to always remember,
“No dreamer is ever too small; no dream is ever too big”. Thank you!