An Experience That Changed My Life - Essay

An Experience That Changed My Life There are many experiences that shaped me into the character I am now. Reflecting upon the many different encounters I had throughout my life, I remember my trip to India. Two years back, my family and I took three months’ vacation to my home town, Punjab, India. Excited and thrilled to go, I packed all my belongings. Peering out of the international terminal window, I gaped at the millions of planes standing in front of me, with not just one floor but two floors of seats. All buzzed up in excitement, I bombarded my mother with question about my first real trip to India. "When are we leaving? When will we get there? Where are we staying? I pestered my mother. The usual response was "I will tell you in a bit." this was the mark of my first summer vacation as a teenager, and what better place to go then to India. I didn't know what to expect traveling to my parents’ home country but I knew it would be an experience that would be hard to forget. Nothing has changed me more than my trip to India. The three lessons I learned from my trip to India were to work hard, to persist in education, and to be grateful for everything. One of the lessons I learned was to work hard. We landed in Delhi, around 1:00 AM. The second my foot stepped into the gate, I felt suffocated. I noticed the sky was filled with pollution, and there were all gray clouds. The smell of the environment was polluted, and I could hear all the traffic. My thoughts about India were the same as an American life: civilized. I expected people living in developing housing complexes, driving around sufficient vehicles, and having proper educational opportunity. However, I found myself mistaken. I saw many undeveloped housing complexes and people living in rather underprivileged conditions. The road trip from the airport to the city, Punjab, was around eight hours long. I knew, immediately that it was going to be an exciting and knowledgeable trip. As I traveled from