My first common application essay

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

New experiences give you chances to explore the possibilities within yourself. That chance was given to me when I went to America. Since I went at a young age I was not really sure what it would be like. New home, new teachers and new friends; it all seemed so much to me.
When I arrived at the airport, everything fascinated me. From just looking around the terminal I could sense that the culture was different from what I was used to. For example, there were people with different nationalities who I was not accustomed to seeing in Korea. Also on my ride to my new home I was surprised by how there was less traffic. The new surrounding I had never seen before both scared me and excited me. I was worried I would not get used to it and thought about many challenges to come.
The major difficulty I had when I first went to America was language. In Korea, I only studied English I could learn at age ten, which did not help much. Unfortunately, that is what I had to deal with and start from the beginning. My parents thought it would be a great idea to learn the language by interacting with others who spoke it. Therefore they signed my brother and me up for summer programs at a park around our home that gave us a chance to meet people. At first I met all kinds of people who I had trouble communicating with. As time went on, my brother and I got used to going to the park everyday and talking to them. We still were not fluent, but we could make others understand.
Then first day of school came and I got very nervous. I was worried about rest of the school life because I had no idea how I was going to get anything done. For example, I really did not know how I was going to do homework when I did not understand the directions. However, with the help from my homeroom teacher I got through. She understood how difficult it was for me, but urged me to try to write in English and speak in English. She told me it would be difficult at first, but if I believed in myself then I would overcome it. I did all the homework assignments and studied to improve my pronunciation during ESL classes. I was glad she thought me the way to overcome my fears and challenge myself to get the results. It gave me an opportunity to show others and myself that I could do something if I set my mind to it. Any experience that seems difficult at first always seems to help you later in the future.