I create this blogger for my ENGL1010 class to show my work. In the class we wrote three papers, my favorite one is "significant event" essay. The paper was to describe a significant event in life. I wrote the time of I came to U.S. for studying and my thoughts about it. I chose this paper because I think this is the most casual one, not like others need to do a lot of research or need that good of writing skills in English. Here's my significant essay:

Significant Event Essay

It was August 15, 2016. The day I was going to leave the country. I did not sleep at all. Not because I could not fall asleep, but because I wanted to look more at the view through the window in my room. Even though it was a quiet, dark midnight and I could not even see my fingers. Even though there were only few hours left. I wanted to keep the scene in my memory. As the sun rose, everyone in the house awoke, including my brother who always sleeps until noon. My father lit a cigarette with the lighter I gave him. He is a man of few words. He does not talk much about what he feels. I heard him sigh, and the smoke came out from his mouth, like he was expressing his melancholy. My mother made the breakfast for me. It was egg rolls, which is my favorite. She said it was made from the recipe she got on the internet. She watched me devour them all, knowing the answer without asking “is it good or not”, she smiled. As for my brother, due to getting up too early, he fell asleep again on the couch in the living room. It only took us one hour to get to the airport, but that day, I felt like it took hours. After lots of complicate procedures, “there,” my mother pointed at a gate and patted my back. I rushed down the path to the gate, suddenly, I figured there was a guidance belt between us. “You have to walk in there on your own. Family is not allowed to go in,” my father said. Then I stopped. I felt my heart stop for a second. I had not figured out what I wanted to say yet, my mother had already started to tell me what I need to do after walking through the gate behind me. She zipped my jacket for me, then pushed my back, told me to hurry. We did not hug; we just said goodbyes and waved our hands. I kept waving my hand, until they disappeared in my sight. Then I realized my eyes were filled with tears.

The reason why I came to the U.S. by myself, is to further my studies. My parents always wanted me to study abroad not only to be a bilingual person but also expend my horizon. When the moment I got on the international flight to the U.S., I saw a lot of foreigners. Hearing their conversations, I deeply felt that my English ability was not good enough, and that is the problem I worry the most. All the differences, including language, culture, weather, etc. made me nervous before I arrived the U.S.

Time flies. The first semester I studied for ESL program passed. After a few months, I saw the first snow in my life and it was also my first-time experiencing the weather below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). My friend told me “the snow in Utah is the best snow in the world.” The snow is so soft that makes me want to lie on it. I did not put on my gloves when the first time I held a snow ball. It was so cold and I thought my hands were going to freeze. “I cannot feel anything!” I screamed at that time. Although the weather here is dry and cold, completely different from the humid, hot weather in Taiwan, I still enjoy it.

Before I moved, I lived in a student apartment, and that was my first-time lived with strangers. Most of my roommates treated me very nice. However, one of the roommates was hard to understand and communicate with. My roommates often invite me to watch movies with them; they played music and danced like crazy; they even bought a cake on my birthday. During those months, the most ridiculous thing happened, was the hard-to-understand roommate called the police because other roommates told her to keep her voice down during midnights. Although they treated me as a little sister, sometimes, I felt unsafe and worried because of the fights between nice roommates and the roommate who acts weird. They always fought about the weird roommate’s bad habits, such as leaving her dirty clothes all over the unit. Due to the fights, I became the bridge between them, hoped them could make up with each other soon. Living in the student apartment, doing laundry, doing dishes, vacuuming the place, all of the housework we absolutely must do by ourselves. However, the pro is no one will peek my diary.

        After living in student apartment for a few months, a friend of mine told me there was an empty room in their house. She asked me whether I wanted to rent it or not. I said “yes.” Then I packed all my stuff, sold my apartment contract, said goodbye to my roommates and headed to her house immediately. She opened the front door of her home, I put down my suitcases in the house and tried to shake off the snow from my shoes. “Welcome to our big family!” Her mother looked so happy and hugged me immediately. Then I saw the dinner on the table, it was all Chinese cuisine. “This feels like home.” I said it to myself voiceless. I thanked them with a big smile.