Australia And The University Of Western Australia example essay topic

JOSHUA GILPIN Gilpin JR AUSTRALIA BUTLER-IFSA ESSAY 1 The program I chose is through IFSA-Butler. The city and university that I felt could offer me the most are Perth, Australia and The University of Western Australia, respectively. After perusing all of my program options, Butler seemed to offer the most, relative to what I expect to gain from studying abroad. The excursions included in this package will provide me with the opportunity to visit other cities and sites that I might not have the chance to experience if I were taking this trip on my own. I hope to see as much of Australia as possible and meet as many natives while visiting in order to learn anything and everything about the culture of "The Land Down Under".

The courses I wish to take include a couple of business courses along with two informative classes on Australia, its people, land, and way of life. My major at the University of Texas at Austin is mechanical engineering, however, I do not plan to enroll in any engineering courses while abroad because I am close to completing my coursework and it will be difficult to transfer credits that will fulfill the highly specialized course requirements that remain between me and graduation. Also, I do not feel that the enrollment in engineering courses will enhance my trip in any way, nor would it be relevant to my purpose for going abroad. From what I have read about Perth, I believe this city has everything I would need to maximize my study abroad experience. I have only been abroad once before in Argentina. However, my interest in other cultures is growing daily.

I want to see how the rest of the world views the U.S. Being born and raised in Houston, TX, I feel I have been confined to certain ideals and standards that aren't necessarily universal. I believe traveling and learning should be a never-ending experience, and that's how I plan to live the rest of life. Since this trip will enable me to live in another continent for a full semester, I will acquire a sense of what Australia is about, and at the same time, find myself as a person. There is no better way to find out "who you are" than to place yourself in an unfamiliar environment and see how you adapt to it. I have been on a soul search for the past four years (my entire college career), and I feel that I learn something new about myself everyday. This trip will be an ideal opportunity to learn about myself, other cultures, and life in general.

I would love the chance to attend a different university, a smaller one for that matter, and compare it to my adventurous college career at UT. I feel a smaller university is more cohesive with my personality, and now is my chance to find out. My personal goals consist of taking full advantage of life and taking risks, otherwise I would be depriving myself of all that is so generously offered. It seems to me that so many times people pass up these opportunities in life, and only accept what is set in front of them. Life is everywhere for us to experience, not to watch it pass us by. This spring semester will be impeccable timing for me to study abroad because I am ready now more ever, and I am approaching graduation and this is quite possibly my last chance to do it.

I have always been an independent person, and I have my family to thank for that. They have provided me with a good set of morals to live by, and great advice no matter what situations arise. My mother is from Argentina, and her culture and background have always been the spark of my interest in other peoples. My older brother studied abroad in Argentina for a year, and he helped me make the decision to go abroad by encouraging me that there is no greater experience than this, and no better time than now, and I thank him for that. My hobbies have always been outdoors oriented, but living in Texas my whole life, I think there has been an absence of certain activities in my life that I would love to partake in.

Perth has much to offer, and my hopes are to take part in as much as I can. To my understanding, there are many sports clubs associated with the university and I will definitely try to be a part of some of those. My hobbies include baseball, weight lifting, basketball, football, writing, reading, and teaching myself to play guitar. Hobbies I hope to pick up while in Australia are hiking, surfing, snorkeling, rafting, and rock climbing. The only difficulty I believe I will encounter is adapting to the major change of environments, but that's the fun part too. The rewards of the trip speak for themselves.

It will be such a pleasure to meet and get to know the people of Australia and their culture, and I know the rewards and memories will be life-long.