Please help :) this is for my english class. Thank you
Differences Between Two Lives
Countless of people would like to go abroad, but something always prohibits them from doing so. But it's different for me. I have been moving overseas three times. In the year 2000, I traveled to the United States and lived in Houston and California for approximately a year, and then I moved back to Indonesia. When I was 16 years old, I moved to Saudi Arabia and still reside there. Now, I'm in San Antonio, Texas, to pursue my study, leaving my parents in Saudi. Living alone is daunting and demanding for me because I always had my parents to help me whenever I have problems. Today, my life is completely different than it used to be before. There are differences between my life back home and my life in the US and both lives have positives and negatives.
Freedom is always one of the reasons why I hated being home. There is not much freedom back at home in contrast to living alone in the states. Back home, I had to wake up early every day, I had to clean my room, I had to clean my house, I had to take care of my baby sister, and do other chores. It's not that I don't like doing chores, but I usually got exhausted from doing those chores all the time, especially when my parents are annoyed if I did something wrong. Sometimes I just wanted to be alone, but both of my sisters always came into my room and left a mess. At times, when I just wanted to be alone, my mom always made me do something. Mainly, I couldn't do anything that I wanted to do without my parents' permission. There were times that I became a rebel and didn't do what they wanted me to do and broke their rules. Occasionally, it was too hectic being at home, which made me want to run away. However, here in college, I can get as much of freedom as I want without worrying about my parents and my sisters. I can do whatever I want in my dorm: no curfew, no sisters to make my room untidy, no parents telling me what to do, and the most important is that I'm alone. I always leave my dorm and come back whenever I want. No one calls me and asks me to go home anymore. This is the life that I always wanted: to live alone without having to agonize about anything.
Needless to say, there are many things that I abhor from living alone. Usually, when I'm stressed out because of school, my mom bakes me cookies or my favorite cakes. My mom always takes care of me, as well as my dad. My dad always helps me with my studies, especially math. He's always there to assist me with any studies that I have difficulties in. And my sisters always try to cheer me up by their presence in my room whenever I'm sad. Even though I sometimes find them annoying, I need them to make me laugh and I need someone to play with. These are my favorite people who always support me when I'm down and they always encourage me in any situation. They are the ones who make me happy inside the house. Another thing about home is that everything is done by my mom. For example, my mom cooks the food, my mom does my laundry, and my mom wakes me up in the morning. Yet in college, I don't have anyone to wake me up and no one cooks my food. Here, I have to be autonomous: find my own food, set an alarm and do laundry on my own. It was hard to adjust to these routines in the beginning of the year but I managed to be independent. I was taught how to be sovereign by my mom and I've learnt plenty by doing so. I'm used to doing things without the help of my family but that's not enough because I want someone to bake me cake when finals are coming or someone to study with or someone to play with at my dorm. Students here have their own duties to accomplish, so it's not easy for me to have someone who is always there akin to my family. I get homesick most of the time and I just want their presence here to guide me in every step of my college life.
Life is diverse in both situations. Back at home, there is no uniqueness in my surroundings because I only see the same people every day. I barely meet new kids or students and I couldn't distinguish what it feels like to have expatriates as my friends. It gets boring sometimes when I hang out with the same people. I contemplated what it feels like being in another country; I wanted to know how other cultures are and I wanted to know their traditions as well because I know they're all unique. That is what I adore about studying in US. I get to know other people and their cultures from various countries and I also meet new people every day. I remember how it felt when I first came to the US in 2000. It was nerve wrecking since I didn't understand English that well. I tried to make friends but it seemed harder than I thought it would be. Understanding what the teacher is saying without a dictionary was extremely complicated. I always cried and asked my parents if I could go back to Indonesia, where I'm able to comprehend people. My parents kept saying that this is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity and that I ought to be thankful. I kept making an effort and I succeeded; I ended up enjoying it because in the end I had loads of friends from all over the world. However, this didn't last long because I had to move back to Indonesia. It was depressing and it was really hard for me to let go of everything that I had accomplished. I finally knew what it felt like having people from other countries in my surroundings, but I had to go back to my normal life in Indonesia. At this time, since I understand English, I can interact with people much easier and get to know more about a variety of customs. I have international experiences and I learn how other people are in each country.
There are advantages and disadvantages in both lives and I never regretted what has happened. I admire every single thing that I've gone through, even though each experience was challenging. I was about to go to an Indonesian school. If I had given up and gone back to Indonesia, life would have been much easier. I would be with my friends and at a school where I would have no difficulty following the classes. However, I would not have had any international experiences and I would not be able to speak English. I also wouldn't have the chance to attend one of the prestigious schools in the US. I'm thankful for both early and present lives. I've learned a lot and I'm still learning.
Rani Putri
Countlessnumber of people would like to go abroad,
or Countless people
Today, my life is completely different than it used to be before .
better than...
otherwise, different compared with it used to be.
I can do whatever I want in my dorm:
===you can do sth you want in your dorm.
I can do whatever I want to do in my dorm.==you can do sth you want to do in your dorm.
Needless to say, there are many things that I abhor from living alone.
I think you should not use needless to say here, how about however or Nevertheless?
It was nerve wrecking since I didn't understand English that well.
nerve wrecking?
Understanding what the teacher was saying without a dictionary was extremely
complicated.was extremely difficult. I think understanding should not be a complicated thing but a difficult thing.
