My mother had always told me the story of the frog in a well. Looking up from the bottom of the well, the frog could only see the world as a piece of circle of sky above him. That is how small his world was, but when the bird flies over and tells him how big its world was, the frog was confused. The frog had never been out of the well before so it didn’t know that the world was a lot more than that circle of sky. It wasn’t until I moved to Queens that I realized how small my world had been. Growing up in Chinatown, Manhattan, everyone around me had been Chinese. My classmates were Chinese, my friends were Chinese, and even the guy selling vegetables on the streets was Chinese. I was terrified when my mom declared that our family was about to move to Queens. The thought stepping out of my childhood environment made me insecure. That was eight years ago. Today, I am living in such a diverse surrounding that I can’t even count the number of nationalities I encounter on ten fingers. I still find that diversity so amazing even today. My world feels so much bigger as I slowly learn about other cultures. Adjusting to a new environment eight years ago wasn’t easy, but it had helped me adapt to change and make the most out of it. I no longer cringe at the thought of being in a new place with new people, I embrace it. When I moved to Queens and experienced the cultural diversity, I felt like I was the frog that perched on top of the well and saw the world as much more. However, it was coming to Baruch that I felt like the frog has left the well for good and hopped out to the real world to explore, discover, and breathe. College is a whole new experience, exciting yet intimidating at the same time. As a freshmen in Baruch college, I hope to make new friends, become involved in the student life organizations and clubs, and pass all my classes of course. My concerns is mainly wondering if I would do well on the midterms and finals because as of now, I have never taken a college exam before…and the exams basically make up the class grade. There are no “warm up tests for the students to get familiar with the professor’s exam style. However, I knew college is going to be a whole different story and I expect to settle in comfortably and take advantage of all that Baruch has to offer. The frog is now climbing up the stairs of success, unsure but determined to reach the top.