¶ … 2003, I withdrew from the Washington State University after having been placed on academic probation. In retrospect, I lacked the necessary motivation at the time to devote my most conscientious efforts to my academic studies, partly because I was experiencing a degree of disconnection between my studies and their practical application to the real world.
A hoped to rekindle my motivation to succeed academically in my chosen major field of study, (Human Development), by involving myself first-hand in some of the foreign cultures and practices with which my only familiarity to date came from my reading. I spent approximately half a year in Australia, where I lived and worked with native Australians.
My experiences in Australia included working, in a very hands-on...
Despite the fact that I was working in Australia by choice, I could not help feeling almost envious of some of the foreign tourists with whom my work brought me into contact. The experience helped me appreciate my good fortune to have been born and raised in North America, where one's future truly does lie in one's own hands.
Just as I had hoped, my time away from a formal academic setting did renew my commitment to complete my degree, but it also had another unanticipated but very beneficial effect on me: after experiencing some of the hardships of everyday life from which most American university students are insulated, I appreciate the…
