Counting down 9 days till I leave Vegas...
Yes, I'm excited to go home and meet my beloved family and friends, but I'm really sad to leave my wonderful host family and my amazing friends.
I still remember how I felt during my flight. I was nervous but super excited that meet my host family. I was thinking how should I call them and what I can say if things get awkward. And yay I arrived. I remember the first thing I saw when I arrived at the McCarran International Airport - slot machines. Dang. It's Vegas being Vegas. *laugh* (And guess what? There are slot machines in the pharmacies too! No idea why but it doesn't matter. It's Vegas. That explains it all.) I remember my host mum was looking smoking hot at the airport :P And we went to... (Let's just skip it. I swear I can tell you every single detail that happened on my first day here but I don't know how long I will take to finish it.)
My exchange journey had been amazing. It's full of ups and downs. In my first few weeks here, I've been asking myself: who am I? wait, I mean, what am I? Why am I here? What am I doing in the United States? Am I really in the US? Should I live like an American or should I hold strong to my own value? I was deeply confused by myself and I just can't find the answer I was looking for.
Nobody notices this but actually I quit YES16 groupchat a long time ago. I had bad feelings when I heard about how well my friends are doing in their host states - joining competitions, choir, sports team, etc - and I was still trying really hard to make friends and fit into the school.
Anyway, I achieved more than what I've expected. (Basically, I expected nothing. I might have just achieved a little, but that means a lot to me.) I volunteered at Central Church and Summerlin Library (sadly I didn't make it to 100 hours of volunteering). I did my first solo dance performance in the theater (which I would have never done it in Malaysia. I was a chicken.). I joined the school dance show. I was nominated as student of the month by my Chemistry teacher. I made tons of ceramics projects. (They look good. For a beginner like me, I swear they really do!!!!! #dontjudge #jk #theydolookhorrible) I tried s'more (best thing ever). I'm living a healthy lifestyle. I ate onion (asdfghjkl; so proud of myself)(but still not a big fan of it). I cooked Malaysian dish. I joined a leadership retreat. I spent a lot of money (lol this is not an achievement but it broke my last record so...). I'm spoiled. I got straight A's in school (HAHAHA). I really learned a lot about American culture and values.
Out of all, my greatest achievement is that I boosted my confidence level and I found happiness. I learned that I could do much more than what the others tell me I could do. I learned that what others say about me does not define me. The only person that can bring me down is myself as it is me that allows those negativity to haunt me.
I want to thank everyone that made my exchange journey memorable. Words cannot describe how grateful I am. Thank you so much for everything, especially my host family - the Pramshafers. I know I didn't show it out a lot (as I'm still shy in some way) but I love you guys so much I will really miss all of you when I'm back to Malaysia.I hope we can We will Facetime/Skype/Messenger Video Call each other sometime in the future! (don't worry it's free) I really appreciate all of you and hopefully we'll meet again someday in the future.
How lucky I am to have people that I find it hard to say goodbye to.
Duh. I really hate to say 'goodbye'. I'm not gonna say it. Nope. I'm not.
Yes, I'm excited to go home and meet my beloved family and friends, but I'm really sad to leave my wonderful host family and my amazing friends.
I still remember how I felt during my flight. I was nervous but super excited that meet my host family. I was thinking how should I call them and what I can say if things get awkward. And yay I arrived. I remember the first thing I saw when I arrived at the McCarran International Airport - slot machines. Dang. It's Vegas being Vegas. *laugh* (And guess what? There are slot machines in the pharmacies too! No idea why but it doesn't matter. It's Vegas. That explains it all.) I remember my host mum was looking smoking hot at the airport :P And we went to... (Let's just skip it. I swear I can tell you every single detail that happened on my first day here but I don't know how long I will take to finish it.)
My exchange journey had been amazing. It's full of ups and downs. In my first few weeks here, I've been asking myself: who am I? wait, I mean, what am I? Why am I here? What am I doing in the United States? Am I really in the US? Should I live like an American or should I hold strong to my own value? I was deeply confused by myself and I just can't find the answer I was looking for.
Nobody notices this but actually I quit YES16 groupchat a long time ago. I had bad feelings when I heard about how well my friends are doing in their host states - joining competitions, choir, sports team, etc - and I was still trying really hard to make friends and fit into the school.
Anyway, I achieved more than what I've expected. (Basically, I expected nothing. I might have just achieved a little, but that means a lot to me.) I volunteered at Central Church and Summerlin Library (sadly I didn't make it to 100 hours of volunteering). I did my first solo dance performance in the theater (which I would have never done it in Malaysia. I was a chicken.). I joined the school dance show. I was nominated as student of the month by my Chemistry teacher. I made tons of ceramics projects. (They look good. For a beginner like me, I swear they really do!!!!! #dontjudge #jk #theydolookhorrible) I tried s'more (best thing ever). I'm living a healthy lifestyle. I ate onion (asdfghjkl; so proud of myself)(but still not a big fan of it). I cooked Malaysian dish. I joined a leadership retreat. I spent a lot of money (lol this is not an achievement but it broke my last record so...). I'm spoiled. I got straight A's in school (HAHAHA). I really learned a lot about American culture and values.
Out of all, my greatest achievement is that I boosted my confidence level and I found happiness. I learned that I could do much more than what the others tell me I could do. I learned that what others say about me does not define me. The only person that can bring me down is myself as it is me that allows those negativity to haunt me.
I want to thank everyone that made my exchange journey memorable. Words cannot describe how grateful I am. Thank you so much for everything, especially my host family - the Pramshafers. I know I didn't show it out a lot (as I'm still shy in some way) but I love you guys so much I will really miss all of you when I'm back to Malaysia.
How lucky I am to have people that I find it hard to say goodbye to.
Duh. I really hate to say 'goodbye'. I'm not gonna say it. Nope. I'm not.
It is not a 'goodbye'. It is a 'see you later'.