Title: The Journey of 6,613 Miles.

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the struggles of being an international student and how to cope without seeing your family in years.

Thesis: Leaving your family and loved ones to a different continent is difficult, but there is always light at the end of every tunnel.

Visual Aids: Prezi Presentation

 

Introduction: How many of you have ever been out of the United States alone? How many of you have ever away from your parents for more than six months? Now, imagine a 17 year old girl that has been in boarding school already for the past seven years of her life, having to leave her parents, siblings, friends and everything that probably mattered to her at the time, to travel 10,642km, 7 seas and oceans and 15 hours flight away from her country to further her education in an entirely different continent for four years. I’m sure a lot of you cannot do that, but here I am today- living the American Dream! In this speech I will narrate my struggles of being an international student, how I transitioned into the educational system and how I deal with living without my family. Hopefully this will inspire someone here who might be considering studying abroad.

 

Body

1. On May 25th 2014 I left my motherland Lagos, Nigeria to further my education here in the United States. Upon getting here it has been a roller coaster of emotions describing what my journey so far has been like. First I would tell you the worst things that could happen to you in another country, most of all these are best described as culture shock:

1. Language- it could always be a barrier. Thankfully I speak good English but even having a different accent is difficult as well.

2. Food- everything tastes different. I had to learn how to eat new foods. I stuck with chipotle.

3. Weather- Coming from a country where the coldest could be 70°c, I was sick throughout the first winter I spent here.

4. Friendships and Relationships- making friends have never been hard for me but answering the questions they always had, sometimes upset me.

(Summary: Now with all these being said you can imagine how much this is for a 17-year-old girl to handle with all this factors militating against her).

(Transitional Statement: Next I will be telling you how different the educational system is between both countries and how I transitioned into the American System).

1. The main goal was to come to the United States to get “Quality Education”, but sometimes things could go wrong.

1. Grading System

2. Assignments

3. Learning Outcomes

(Summary: It was a struggle, but I still I thrived).

(Transition Statement: With all these I had going on, I still had to deal with the sorrows of being away from home and my family).

1. I’m not going to tell you that you will eventually get used to being away from home because I will be telling a big fat lie. I am still discovering new ways every day to deal with being away from the one place I’d rather be.

Things I did and I’m doing:

1. Phone Calls and Social Media Use.

2. Getting involved in school activities

3. Making them proud by exceling in my studies.

 

Conclusion

It is never easy to leave your comfort zone and try new things, not even for an extrovert, especially when it involves leaving the place and the people that you love and you are sure love you back. If you are a family oriented person like I am, you will have your nights of crying yourself to sleep especially during the holidays, but to achieve the things we hope to achieve in life, we need to take whatever life throws at us and turn it into something positive. As Dr. Steve Maraboli once said: “To embark on the journey towards your goals and dreams requires bravery, to remain on that path requires courage, and the bridge that merges the two is commitment”. Stay committed!