A College Degree is Important to me

High School Diploma

   Coming to another country is difficult to adjust to because where I lived the culture and language are totally different. Living four years in the United States I have learned many different things like living independently and getting some knowledge about the world. I decided that a degree is very important to get in life so that I can get more knowledge about  a better life. Through education I can experiment into a possible future.

HCC

   After getting a high school degree, it was hard to decide which college I should go to because when I was  attending my last days in high school I was worried about how I was going to pay my college fee. Every college has their own tuition fee. Some colleges are expensive, some are average but average is also costly. Then one day I was thinking about which college should I go when my friends gave me the advice to go to community college and get an associate-degree, and from there and then transfer, so I decided to go to Housatonic Community College because it was near to my house.

ESL book

   Then I planned to go to college because it is the next step and I feel that education is a basic way of life. To earn a college degree it takes three to five years, but can be wide in duration, depending on the ability or other life commitments while attending college. Before I didn’t know that in college they teach ESL for those student who graduate from high school.Then when I took the placement test and the teacher told me to take ESL classes and I was surprised since I took the English credits from high school. I asked the teacher but then I got to know that it’s recommended for everyone, and it depends on the placement test. Then when I took ESL I wanted to take more then three classes but because of ESL I couldn’t take it. For me ESL is like wasting my years and graduating late from college. Now I have no choice so I have to take ESL for my better future to earn my goals.

   At the beginning of college I was nervous because there were new people, places and environment. I didn’t think that the college life will be difficult because in the hollywood movies they show the college life very calm and enjoyable but in reality it’s opposite. When I started the college I knew some students from my previous school. I made more friends in class which I took last semester. My future is to become a civil engineer and I am trying my best to achieve my future goal. To create my own life in this country is to work hard and focus on my studies. 

Financial Aid

   When I started college I didn’t know how to apply for financial aid and I didn’t even know there is financial aid so I was paying from my pocket and it was hard for me so my friend told me to apply for financial aid. Some people prefer not to go to college because of the money. College is expensive, requiring taking loans and when they take the loans they usually have six months, and if there is no job in that time then they may end up having to make high payments without paychecks. When going to college it motivate for achieving good grades and performance.

Xbox

   From Monday to Thursday I give my full attention to studies and college because I don’t want to fall behind from other students in class. On weekends I spent most of my time with my family,  grocery shopping, fixing things at home, doing my home work, searching jobs and playing xbox with my cousins and friends in Pakistan. 

   Now I have everything in the United States, I made my life by working hard and I have to achieve my goals which is not easy but I will try my best so I can visit my country once in a year. It depends on the situation but there is nothing like being in one's own country. 

   I agree that the college degree is important, it’s very important in today's life. By being educated I can know how to communicate well with others and get to know about our society and culture. After getting my college degree I can have many choices and can help to look for job requirements by having information and I can be able to get my professional job. It is clear that who have a,college degree can have success in life and in their future.

My Home Town



Hyderabad city map
 

Hyderabad is the fourth largest city in Pakistan and the second largest city of Sindh (province). Hyderabad is a small city but has many things that people love. There are historical places which people come from other countries and visit. In Pakistan every city has its own famous thing and in my city the most popular thing is embroideries and bangles. Everyone loves to buy embroidered textile.


Embroidered textile
 




Embroidered Bangles



Cake

Hyderabad is known as a city of winds in the night time. It's famous for cool breezes. The season in my city is mostly summer, the temperature remains 80 to 95 F for nine months and the rest three months is winter. Another famous thing in Hyderabad is cake which is called “Bombay bakery cake”. People come from very distant places to have it and they also buy these cakes for their loved one. This is one thing that I really crave for every time I go to Hyderabad I always have the cake and the flavor I like most is chocolate because chocolate cake is the most famous cake of “Bombay bakery”.



The Sindh Museum Portraits

I was born in Hyderabad and I spent half of my life there. I have lots of unforgettable memories which I will never forget. Although there are so many places in Hyderabad that I love, one place which I love the most in Hyderabad is “The Sindh Museum”. It has very interesting collection of depiction of the traditional and tribal life of Sindh. These portraits are worth seeing.



River Indus

One of the longest rivers in Pakistan is called “River Indus”. This river crosses Hyderabad and at sunset I like to go and spend my time on the river bank with my friends. It refreshes my soul. One interesting thing about Hyderabad is that it has a bazaar called "Shahi Bazaar”. It is known to be “Asia's Longest Bazaar”. I used to go there for shopping and it takes a whole day to just visit that bazaar.



Hyderabad Train Station

Although I have a car, I also like traveling on the train and Hyderabad Railways is a major junction of Pakistan railways and it connects all the major cities with Hyderabad through its railway system. Whenever I take the rail I get to enjoy the beautiful sceneries on my way. I always miss that rail journey which I did with my friends.

The education system in Hyderabad is quite extensive. There are big universities in Hyderabad, numerous colleges and schools. I did my schooling in Hyderabad from a private school to tenth grade. The friends I made in school are still in contact with me, oftentimes we talk about school life and remember those golden days and laugh for several hours together.

My hometown is very far from where I am now but the memories of it are always with me.

Trip To Japan



Japan map

In 2010 my dad and I visited Japan because my dad wanted to buy a car. In Japan I went to Tokyo which was a beautiful place. When I went there I felt Japan is a different country because it is very difficult to analyze another culture without some knowledge. Japan has its own culture and when I went there I got to know about the culture. Japan is a culture where human relationships are important and they also play major influence with colors which seemed interesting to me.

In Japan people are very friendly and helpful which I liked the most. When I was there I had a little difficulty to speak and understand because mostly Japanese people don't know English. Then after two days I met my dad's friend who lived in Japan so he knew Japanese so then I didn't have any problem to talk. After meeting them I enjoyed and got to know about some other things like their traditional dresses and festivals. In their traditional festival they were many dragons and they beat the drums. Which i liked the festival the most was the Flower Festival, it was very nice specially “The Bloom of Cherry Blossom”.



Cherry Bloosom

In Japan “The Bloom of Cherry Blossom” festival is known as “Hanami”. During the season of this festival people like to party with friends and family. I heard that Cherry blossom make people marry. The place is so very beautiful and romantic that I fell in love with it. At night, viewing spots are crowded and people enjoy the atmosphere.
 


Toyota Wish

My main reason to visit Japan was to buy a car because in Pakistan many people import there car from Japan. He bought a car and it wasn’t cheap but it was better than the prize in Pakistan. In Japan there are many varieties of cars in a good condition with a reasonable prize. When my dad was buying the car I got to know a lot of different cars and its function. After seeing many cars, my dad found the car which he was looking for and i liked it. The name of the car is “Toyota Wish” in black (fully loaded). My dad bought it and then we shipped to Pakistan. Japan isn’t expensive for buying cars but living style and food in Japan is an expensive.

When I return to my country I realized that every country has its own way of living. My experience going to Japan was wonderful and I miss Japan but one day when I will have a chance to go to the other country i will defiantly go to Japan.  

"My Brother's Wedding"

After living for three years in the United States, I went to back my country, Pakistan, to attend my brother’s wedding. I was very happy that finally time had come to again see my whole family, cousins and especially my friends.
 

The day I was leaving the United States was tough because I knew after a few hours I would be in a different environment and everything would change. I flew from New York to Karachi, Pakistan.

When I came out from the airport I saw my brother and sister waiting for me. I smiled and hugged them. We went home.  It was 7am in the morning when I entered my home and I saw my mother standing and waiting for me. When I saw her I ran toward her and hugged her. I was so very happy that my tears flowed.

I arrived in my country one week before my brother’s wedding. In my culture there are so many ceremonies in the wedding like “Dholki”, “Baraat” and “Valima”. The day I arrived there was also a ceremony called “Dholki” in the evening. “Dholki” is the ceremony where we all gather in the bride’s house and the bride and groom exchange rings,the bride's parents give gifts to cousins and there is a dance competition. It’s all so much fun.

When I arrived in the “Dholki” ceremony, everyone was shocked and surprised to see me as I didn’t tell anyone that I was coming to Pakistan to attend my brother’s wedding because I wanted to surprise everyone. They were happy to see me after 3 years.

My house decorate with lights

In the wedding there was so much work like decorating the house with lights, taking family to shopping, going to the wedding hall to see what’s happening over there, and to see the arrangements in the hall and the stage.



The Wedding hall

Later there was a day called “Baraat” which is all arranged by the bride’s parents. That day the bride’s family and guests come first and rest of the family, cousins and guest come together after an hour. In “Baraat”, the groom brings the bride home after signing a Nikkah papers (marriage certificate). So that day was all filled with fun and I met all the relatives and my old friends and my old cousins seemed all grown up. It was a memorable day.

Then there is the final celebration called “Valima” (reception). It is all arranged by the groom's parents. I helped to make those arrangements.

Wedding stage

Finally towards the end of the day it was time to say good bye to all my relatives and family as I was not going to see them anytime soon again. I was a little depressed too, but there was a new addition to our family and that thought cheered me up and I departed my homeland with happy memories.

Leaving Pakistan

                                                            


Pakistan map

The day I left Pakistan was the most terrible day of my life. I was alone 19 years old and didn’t want to leave my home, I didn’t want to leave my family and friends, but my father made a decision and he was sticking with that so I was depressed and was feeling soulless. There are some moments in one's life that become unforgettable memories which teach us great lessons. The experience that I will never forget in my life is the time when I came here to the United States and started living alone and on my own. Moving to a whole new country made a big impact on my life and some very remarkable changes in my personality which I would count as good ones.

I lived in Pakistan for 19 years and now in the United States. These cultures and languages are extremely different when compared. By exposing me to them both, my parents made me be a little versatile and broad versioned.

In 2011 when I was 19 years old, my dad decided to send me to America for further education. When I came here my father bought a house in Fairfield for me and my mother. He didn’t want us to be in trouble or any kind of burden. When I came here I was not a United States citizen or resident so my father planned to come and apply for a green card for me and my mother. After one month my father came to United States and applied for residency for me and my mother.



United States Of America

After ten days I continued my studies from 11th grade in Warde high school in Fairfield Connecticut. It was very difficult to adjust where you don’t know anyone but I tried my best to start being familiar with the environment. First few months were very challenging for me because my English was not as good as compared to other students in school so I used to feel like going back to my country where I could easily communicate, where I knew people and had friends. In general it's hard to easily make new friends so I didn't have any friends initially, didn't have any fun or anyone to talk to. In every class I used to sit alone and quiet, even in cafeteria. After a few months I got adjusted to the environment, I was a little comfortable; I made some friends, and started to take interest in school and studies. My friends proved to be really helpful in every regard.



USA flag left and Pakistan flag right

When you have lived in two different places during your lifetime, you learn that hard work and education are respected no matter where you are. In Pakistan I learned how to work hard in order to succeed in life. I am not fearful of hard work because with handwork our world can be a better place. I have experienced that in places where I lived is beauty. While cultural traditions may vary. Many people ask me if I prefer to live in Pakistan or United States. For me it's really hard to answer this question because every country is great in its own place. I like living in United States since I have a better chance of acquiring great education and build a better career while I also miss my old friends and my relatives living in Pakistan, so I'm happy either way but the better decision at this moment for me would be to follow my father's decision and to get higher level of education in order to become a successful person in my field.