FOR NJOSH ONLY

Sample Three 2

English 101

DATE

A Camel in The Middle of The Snow Comment by Alfuways, Abdulaziz: Choose good title

I was born in Hail, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the major cities. Sometimes they call it “The Bride of The North” because of its unique location in the north of Saudi Arabia. Hail residents are known for their generosity, courage and morality. Being raised in that city shaped my personality. For instance the hot and dry climate gave me the ability to be patient. My family also shaped my personality and inspired me as well. I have a lovely family. We are four boys and three girls with my mother and father. I am the oldest so they called me big brother. Being the first kid and the oldest made me special to my family. My mom and dad both went to college and got their degrees so education is important to them. My father was a math teacher and he used to tell me stuff about the beauty of mathematics and how it can describe everything in our universe. My mother is a Kindergarten teacher so she knows how to deal with kids, which helped her with raising me. So how could a little kid that was born in hot and dry weather end up thousands of miles away in place where is it humid and cold? Comment by Alfuways, Abdulaziz: Hafar Al-Batin – Saudi arabia – and give example about this city Comment by Alfuways, Abdulaziz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafar_Al-Batin Comment by Alfuways, Abdulaziz: Huge family consist of 11 sibling Five brothers and six sisters I am the number 9th from my sibling All my sisters are teachers And three of my brother teachers to Comment by Alfuways, Abdulaziz: My father Freelancers and support the whole family My mother Housewife just to take care about her kid and she is illiteracy because she is old

Since both of my parents are teachers, they valued my education so they sent me to a private school instead of public one. While I was in elementary school, my father was so focused on me getting used to math until I got hooked on math. I didn’t take any specific science courses until I went to high school. When I went to high school, I got introduced to physics. I started to realize that mathematics and physics share some common concepts. They both deal with symbols and numbers. It fascinated me the way these equations and symbols could find the unknown, whether it was a time needed to finish a task or a number that would determine the success of a project. However, high schools in Saudi Arabia are different than the ones in the United States. We weren’t allowed to take the courses that we want. We just had to take what was in the schedule. So I got to explore other courses like arts, history and even poetry. By exploring other kinds of subjects I found what fields of study fit me the most. Mathematics and physics were these fields of study that I wanted to pursue. You might ask why I chose to be an engineer rather than a mathematician or physicist. An engineering degree will help me to use my knowledge in mathematics and physics to solve some of today's problems. Also like what Theodore von Karman said “Scientists discover the world that exists; engineers create the world that never was” (Goodreads) so I want to create that world that no one has ever seen. Comment by Alfuways, Abdulaziz: Father want all of us has better education because he just went elementary school. He sent my to private school when I moved to high school. Comment by Alfuways, Abdulaziz: Try to paraphrase this one and rewrite it using your own word Comment by Alfuways, Abdulaziz: Calligraphy class and I love it I did very well After high school I moved to the capital city which is Riyadh - Saudi Arabia to study at King Saud University – Majoring Human Recourse Management Because good school ( give source about this University) I stayed in my old sister house My hometown doesn’t have university that time.

After finishing high school, I started looking for engineering universities in Saudi Arabia. I asked my parents, my relatives, and a couple of my friends about where I should go for higher education. Most of them told me to stay in my city and apply to its university. Hail university is a good university but for engineering it wasn't the best. Since all these people told me to stay in my city, I only applied to it. One day my phone rang, it was one of my cousins. He told me that he heard about my achievements in high school. Then he start telling me to about King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, which is one of the best universities in engineering in the whole Middle East and that I should apply to it. I looked it up and according to OS Top Universities, a website that links high achievers like universities and executive communities around the world, “King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals was named the top school in the Middle East for the second time in a row in the QS University Rankings: Arab Region 2016 and ranked 189th worldwide in the QS World University Rankings 2016/17, and was established in 1963” (Study in Saudi Arabia). After reading this article and a couple others, I applied to that university right away. Later on, I got accepted in both universities. I told my father about that. He told me that I should stay because I am the oldest one in my family and I guess he needed my help. But I refused to stay, so I finished my application with the other university. Comment by Alfuways, Abdulaziz: One of my friend suggest this university for me and told me we can go together there because I don’t have a car that time.

On August 10th, 2013 I moved to the university. The hardest thing at that time was finding a roommate. Thankfully, I found an old friend from my hometown. My first college year was not that complex because in most Saudi universities, we are required to take an extra year. That year is called the orientation year. It is a year of an intensive English courses and a few sciences courses. If you didn't pass this year, you will be kicked out from the school. I didn't take that as threat but most students did. They did not know whether they were going to pass it or not. It made them so stressed and worried about their first year in college. But I passed that year and I got to choose my major after. There were so many engineering majors. I chose the one that would help me to get a job, so I could make my family happy.

My second year of college was a little different, which is compared to the American version of freshmen year. I started to feel down because of couple things that happened to my life at that period of time. My roommate dropped out college and one of my cousins died at a young age. It made me start to think about my future and what I really wanted to be. Life wasn’t that long for me anymore. So I wanted to do something before I die that would make me proud of myself. I was thinking a lot that semester until it made me so depressed. I didn't do that well at my classes. I failed most of my first exams. So I had to drop that semester. When I went back home my whole family were looking at me. They told me that they are still mad at me. Also they told me that if I had listen to them in the first place that wouldn't happen to me. I spent what was left of that semester thinking about what I have done to myself.

One night I was so depressed so I called one of my friends. He was studying in England at that time. I told him about my feeling and what I did to myself. He told me about his experience with studying abroad and how that thing changed him and made him a better person. Also he advised me to try to study abroad because he thought it might help me with my situation. I always wanted to study abroad but I was scared of going to another country. I started looking for something to make me go and not hesitate. I read many articles about studying abroad and the benefits of it. One of them was an article called On the Cognitive Benefits of Cultural Experience: Exploring the Relationship between Studying Abroad and Creative Thinking. It stated that “ the positive outcomes of study abroad programs has relied on students’ self-reported affective benefits (e.g., feelings towards foreign countries and perceptions of personal well-being) and increase in intercultural awareness” (Lee et al. 768). After reading this article and hearing what my friend said, I felt at that point of my life that I should try studying abroad.

I didn’t know how to apply to foreign universities so I asked for help on Twitter. Someone offered me that help if I just paid him. It was so weird the way I trusted that man, but I had no choice because I didn't have the knowledge for it. I told him that I want some universities that are not expensive and good for student life. He gave me a list of 30 universities, and one of the universities was the University of Wisconsin-Stout. There were two reasons why I picked this school. First, UW-Stout ranked one of the highest on my list. Also based on UW-Stout’s page they mentioned that “UW-Stout is ‘Wisconsin's Polytechnic University.’ When an employer sees ‘polytechnic’ on your resume, they'll know you can transition from graduation into a position and start working immediately, which makes you very marketable” (Why UW-Stout?). We don’t have any polytechnic universities in Saudi Arabia, so it is good to be in one. Second, I wanted to be in a small town because I wasn't planning to buy a car due to some financial problem. Also, small towns have something unique. According to Smithsonian Magazine, a magazine that talks about many topics, they mentioned Menomonie as one of “the best places to get a job, retire, ski, golf and fall in love” (Spano et al.). They rated Menomine the number 15th in their list for best small town in the United States.

That is why I picked UW-Stout and applied to it. I got accepted for the summer of 2015. On July 15th, 2015, I arrived to the United States. I was impressed by how diverse people looked and how beautiful the nature was. When I came to the university, I had to take a couple English courses. I started my freshmen year in the spring of 2016. Until now I feel no regret about the choices that I made in my life. Coming here to this place wasn't a mistake but a right choice. I have experienced a lot of changes during the past years in my life. But they all changed me and made me a better person. I will end with this quote I found on the web, which is how I feel about my life: “The beautiful things about life is that you can always change, grow and get better. You aren't defined by your past. You aren't your mistakes” (Wordstionary).

Works Cited

Lee, Christine S., David J. Therriault, and Tracy Linderholm. "On The Cognitive Benefits Of Cultural Experience: Exploring The Relationship Between Studying Abroad And Creative Thinking." Applied Cognitive Psychology 26.5 (2012): 768-778. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.

"Study in Saudi Arabia." Top Universities: Study in Saudi Arabia. N.p., 14 Sept. 2016. Web. 17 Feb. 2017.

Susan Spano, Aviva Shen. “The 20 Best Small Towns in America of 2012.” Smithsonian Magazine. 30 April. 2012, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-20-best-small- towns-in-america-of-2012-66120384, 6 Feb. 2017.

Von Karman, Theodore. "Quotes by Theodore von Karman." Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 17

Feb. 2017.

“Why UW-Stout?” University of Wisconsin-stout, http://www.uwstout.edu/admissions/why- stout.cfm6, Feb. 2017.

(Wordstionary). “The beautiful things about life is that you can always change, grow and get better. You aren't defined by your past. You aren't your mistakes.” 21 Aug 2016, 11:17 AM. Tweet.