Cause / Effect Essay Sample

Effects of Living in a Foreign Country

Living away from your country can be a really interesting and unforgettable experience, but at the same time it has very important effects on one's life. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the three main effects that living in another country can produce in your personal life.

The major effect, and also a very common one, is that once you start a regular life away from home, you miss everything. This fact doesn't mean that you are unhappy but that you are aware of being on your own. Missing your family and the attention they all paid to you is a very usual thing to do. Little details like sitting on a Sunday morning watching TV alone instead of helping your dad organizing his things or having a nice chat with your mom makes you realize how valuable your family really is. It is also completely acceptable to miss all the facilities you used to have back at home, like your house, your car, your bed, and your bathroom. It's obvious then that you have started to appreciate everything you had back where you belong.

The second main effect would be learning how to accept another type of society and culture into your daily life. Since you are living in a place with different customs and traditions from yours, you have to be able to develop yourself in unknown conditions. This means making new friends, learning other points of view, accepting different opinions and values, and seizing every opportunity you have to go to new places. Therefore, you'll be able to achieve true knowledge. Suggesting to change your mind totally or to be square minded would be foolish; the best thing to do would be to stick to your most important values and, according to them, change those that you believe could be improved.

The most significant effect of living away from home is the independent behavior that grows inside of you. Living on your own far from your family gives you a lot of experiences toward organizing your life. Since it is up to you and no one else to go to school, clean your room, wash your clothes, and organize your expenses, it is predictable that you will have a good and strong meaning of responsibility. Being independent and responsible will help you get through life every goal you want to achieve.

Living far from home, even for a short period of time, can be really hard at the beginning. We have to remember that all changes are difficult, but they are necessary to go through them to build character. Most important of all, it helps us appreciate everything we have. Not realizing how lucky we are can be a really bad mistake because things don't last forever and we have to make the best out of them.