I had always seen glimpses of different places in the United States on TV; however, I never really knew what the United States was actually like until I arrived here in 2015.

Me and my family lived in the suburban part of Pakistan, in the region better known as Khyber Partukhwa or KPK. I went to school in Pakistan with all my friends and my brother who is just two years younger than me.

Life in Pakistan was really fun and my childhood has been the best part of my life so far. I went on so many adventures with my friends and family explore new places in my home country every day.

We’ve traveled to Islamabad, the nation’s capital and so many other interesting places.

In 2015, when I first got to the United States during the month of November,

I also experienced my first snowfall. I had never really seen snow before so I couldn’t compare the blizzard we got that year to anything else. Back where I lived, the weather was always warm and it was hard to adjust to the weather here in the U.S..

I started school soon after arriving to the United States because that was mainly why my family and I shifted here. As many people know, the educational opportunities in the U.S. are endless.

I was excited to start school here because I wanted to make a future for myself and be successful.

My first day of school in the United States was here at Annandale High school. I loved the environment here and the people were so generous as well. When I needed help finding my classes the first few weeks, everyone helped me out.

Since I went to an English based school in Pakistan, I was kind of prepared.

I knew enough English to ask for help and stuff. I made friends pretty quickly as well.

The only problem I had was picking out clothes for a school day because in Pakistan we had uniforms and we didn’t have to go on about what to wear every single day.

Also, the school isn’t my favorite either. It was the one thing I was actually looking forward to. However, in Pakistan I packed my own lunch, and I guess that will continue here in the United States as well.

I am a sophomore in high school as of now and I am sure that I want to go to college.

I have maintained good grades, but I am planning on taking some IB classes as well that will help my GPA and help me get the credits I need to meet the requirements most colleges require.