Best Year of my Life

Sittie - YES Program, Phillipines

I’ve been in the United States for a couple of months and I realized how fast time goes by. I wouldn’t notice as time will pass that my exchange year will come to its end but the memories and friendships I made will never end. This year helped me widen my horizon and discover more things about myself. Yes, this place isn’t like home. Yes, this place is strange and different but no because my family and friends are not here. I was scared at first that I won’t be able to find friends because I’m new and foreign to this community but I was wrong. American’s are friendly people and that’s why I met my new friends and built strong friendships. This was the biggest challenges that I had to overcome the first time I got here. Nothing will totally prepare me for what I am about to discover.

I learned new things that I never know before and also overcome culture shock. At first, I wondered why people here do things in different ways. This culture is different from the culture I was accustomed and as I am getting used to this new things, I don’t have to fear it but rather embrace it. The best thing to do is to be open to differences and flexible to change. Differences are not good or bad but just different and accepting the fact that not all people do things in same way is a first step of understanding culture. For me, every day is about learning new things .The most exciting part of my year was our trip to Disney World in Florida. I can’t express how happy I was when I finally got the chance to visit one of my dream places. It was wonderful spring break I ever had and dreams really do come true.

This program is a life-changing experience and helped me discover our diverse nations. I became more vocal, more self-confident, more independent, a better communicator and a strong leader. I will bring back the volunteerism, our desire to serve and make a difference and all the good things I gained in my exchange year. I’ll look back and thank my country, look forward and dream for today and for the next generations, look around and serve other people, look above and pray for our nation.