Essay

Living abroad has been the most significant experience that has played a major role in who I am today. I lived in Indonesia and China for eight years and went to international schools with people from various backgrounds and knowledge. This experience has helped me meet new people, experience new things, be taught in a different method than that of Korea.

As there was diversity in the people that attended the school, I was able to converse and make friends with people from numerous ethnic backgrounds. While mixing with friends, I learnt about their cultures and manners and learnt to respect and appreciate their uniqueness. I learnt to open up to people from various countries and this widened my perspectives and views of people. I no longer only knew about things in my country.

I also had the opportunity to experience new things. Living abroad has helped me discover sports. I fell for sports at the end of sixth grade and so I joined all the school's sports teams. I didn't make it into two sports teams at seventh grade but after all the after school practices, I made it into all four teams in eight grade. I learnt to accept failure without whining and realized that team work and team spirit is crucial when working with a group of people. Additionally, as I was captain for two sports teams, I learnt to manage the team and be responsible for many situations.

By going to school outside of Korea, I was able to learn from teachers with a different style of teaching from the teachers in Korea. They were more one-on-one with the students which made the class more interesting, less sleepy and the best part was that everyone could participate. It allowed me to ask questions without worrying it sounds silly. I also liked the part that teachers didn't hit; this showed respect for the students which was returned with appreciation for the teachers. Furthermore, teachers were less formal and most teachers were more like a friend.

Through my experience overseas, I learnt many things that could not have been gained if I lived in Korea all my life. I got to learn about different kinds of people, undergo interesting events and learn from teachers with different teaching techniques than of those in Korea. This experience had a vital impact on me and my personality and shall be cherished for a long time.