by Matthew Otis Two years ago I was
selected from a group of over fifty applicants to become an exchange student. It was not until later that I learned that Germany was where I was to be sent. Although at first I was apprehensive to go to Germany because
I didn't yet know the language or much about the country itself, I soon discovered by living there that it was one of the best things that could possibly have happened to me. There were large changes that occurred in my
life, but probably the most important and dramatic of these changes was the one that occurred most slowly.
Over the course of my time in Germany I learned to see that people think differently and have ideas that
differ from my own. I learned not to be selfish and think that the only right is what I think -- but rather that others may also have ideas that are just as good and deserve to be more carefully looked at.
When I
arrived in Germany I was overcome with a sense of awe mixed with anticipation for what was to happen. I saw all about me different scenes and one acts of the daily life which was constantly playing around me.
Everything, which the Germans did, was so different, especially when it came to driving. I feared that I would not even survive the trip from the airport.
I did survive the trip to my host family's house. That is
where I began to learn that people solve problems in a way that best suits their predicament. Due to the limited space at my first house they had a shared communal garden. They ate different foods than we Americans,
they spoke in a different manner, and they even dressed slightly differently. All these differences, I later learned, stem from a difference in the way they thought. While at first these differences seemed uncomfortable
I later learned to accept them for what they were.
I feel that my acceptance of the fact that we all have differences, was a major turning point in the way that I think. I saw that although opinions may differ that
one person isn't necessarily right and the other wrong. Sometimes it is important to realize that people differ as do their ideas, but the most important fact is that we be able to work out our differences and realize
that we are truly all working together. I saw through this that many of today's problems in the world are merely caused by the lack of understanding of one another, and also the lack of acceptance that someone else's
idea may also be right.
My ability to look at this is what I think is now one of my greatest traits. I no longer simply take what I am told is the truth and consider it to be so. I now look carefully to make sure
that I fully understand any situation from all possible viewpoints. I am now more capable of reading between the lines of life. I more carefully form my own opinion rather than simply adopt the idea of another as my own.
