Stages in My LifeThrough life, a person can experience .docx

Stages in My Life
Through life, a person can experience many events. Those
events might make a person struggle and pause or provide the
hope and inspiration to continue and move on. I have been
through stages that have changed my life, whether for better or
worse. Those stages are the most important aspects that made
me who I am now because each of them taught me a new lesson
that made me aware of what I have been through, and how I
should deal with the new stage I have launched. Those stages
which began since the third high school year until the first day
of college made me learn how to be organized, rely on myself,
and never give up on my ambitions.
The first stage, which I thought is the hardest was the beginning
of my career. Due to some urgent cases I had to live away from
my family for the first time. It was a new experience that I had
to face. My uncle, whom I spent the last two years of high
school with did not hesitate to talk to my father and take his
permission to let me live with him while my family was
travelling. He welcomed me in his house and got me a driver
who could give me a ride to my school. At the beginning I was
not familiar with the life away from my family, even though my
uncle treated me as his own son. I was trying to live my life like
nothing had happened, but that was not working. Because of
that, I got the lowest grade ever which was under 90 percent. I
was unhappy about that, and I did not talk to anyone about this
grade. My family returned for a while and they were not sure
whether they were going to stay with me for the last year of
high school. I kept asking myself “what if my family left me
again for the same reason?” and that happened. This time I
asked myself why did I get lower grades, so I made a schedule

for my self and organized my time. Before, my parents used to
tell me what to do and when. Now, I have my own schedules for
each day and how am I going to spend it. For example, I tried to
make my time more organized because it was my last year in
high school. This year was going to determine my future, so I
made 2 hours each day for studying, 3 hours for eating and
relaxing, 2 hours for time enjoyment like playing video games
or talking to a friend, 1 hour for revising, and the rest to sleep.
This was one of the successful plans that I have ever thought of.
At the beginning it was hard to work on this schedule. After
watching the results, I continued on the schedule and passed the
high school with a 90 percent, even though It was not the grade
that I have expected, I was happy with It. From this stage, I
learned how to be organized in my life, that helped me a lot and
made everything easier whenever and wherever I went.
Next, after I had graduated from high school, I was assuming
that I had passed the hardest point and life will continue and be
easier. Then, the time for applying for the colleges and
universities came. I was totally confused, I did not know what
to do or not to do. I needed advice from any person. Many
people did not hesitate to advise me about what to do next, but
that did not help and I got more confused because each person
was ordering me to walk a path that he/she has wanted, not what
was suitable for me. My father saw me getting more confused,
so he told me that I am the one who is going to walk in the path
that I choose; no one will help me after I choose the path. I
made up my mind. I always wanted to be an engineer so, I asked
“why not be one?”. I went on to the ministry of higher
education in Kuwait to apply for a scholarship to study in the
United States of America. After that, I got accepted with the
scholarship. I was so happy and worried, I completed all the
papers needed and got accepted to study in a English program in
Cal Poly Pomona. More than 2000 students were accepted on
this scholarship and each student’s fate was in the hands of the
U.S embassy in Kuwait. Many of the students got their Visas
and I was one of them. Also, I had won a ticket by chance in a

drawing for the United States from the National Union of
Kuwaiti Student in the U.S. As soon as I got my ticket I
managed my trip and traveled for the first time on my own. I
was so confident and proud of myself for what I had achieved. I
knew how to rely on myself and it was easier than I have
expected.
Lastly, I began my trip as an international student in Cal Poly
Pomona for a E.S.L. program. Thankfully, from the first time I
took the IELTS exam I got 6 out of 9 which is more than what
many universities have asked for. After completing the english
program I applied for CSUF and ASU. Since I was living in
California I visited Fullerton to see the University and it was
simple and beautiful. Also, I went to Arizona to see the other
University. I liked it more in California, especially after having
new friends and buying one of my dream cars, but the major
factor for choosing California over Arizona was the life and the
people in California. My biggest ambition back then was
attending CSUF and beginning my study career as an engineer. I
went back to Kuwait after receiving the new I-20 from Cal State
Fullerton and finishing the ESL program. I enjoyed the vacation
with my friends and family and applied to renew my visa so that
I can attend Cal State Fullerton. However, I encountered some
delays while getting my renewed visa and the main problem was
I got the visa after the start of the Fall 2013 course. I contacted
CSUF and told them about the delays I was having. First, they
told me that I must apply for the next Fall since CSUF does not
accept freshmen for Spring but, I had insisted and told them that
I have every requirement done and that I will try to enter the
United States even if the immigration may not let me in and
send me back. I never gave up on my ambition to attend Cal
State Fullerton and I succeeded and made it to United States and
attended the university.
To sum up, any person can choose whether to benefit from
the events and situations that they go through or let the
opportunity get lost, and If the opportunity is lost no will lose
except that person. Once a person said to me “good chances

come mostly once in life”. What the events and chances of life
made me go through let me gain the faith in myself, confidence
in what I want to achieve, and how to organize my time to
achieve it.
What A Home
What and where is a Home ? How can a person define a
place as a Home ? Although many people can define home as
the place where one lives permanently, it is hard for me to
define home for now. Ever since I was accepted in a scholarship
the word home has been a complex word to me. I will be living
in the U.S. for more than 5 years, so is my apartment in the U.S
my home or my father’s house in Kuwait? I define home as a
place that I can feel comfortable in doing everything that can
come on my mind freely without being questioned by anyone
nor breaking any law. A period more than 5 years is enough to
me to consider my apartment in the United States my second
home. That is why whenever someone asks me about my home
my answer to them is “which home do you mean in Kuwait or
the U.S ?” It is great to have two houses to be considered as
homes because each one of them has its own specifications.
In Kuwait, my home is my father’s house. It is located in
one of the newest and modernist areas in Kuwait City which is
known as South Surra or in arabic janoub al-surra specifically
and in more detailed a place called al-shuhadaa. My father’s
house is unique in the block by the color and the simple design.
From the outside, the house has a color is between orange and
pink, but it tends to be orange more that pink, and a shape like a
human face as I see. The two left windows on the top are the
left eye, and the two on the top right are the other eye, and
another big one in the middle as the nose and under it come the
main door as the mouth with another two windows as the

cheeks. Also, there is a parking for three cars covered by a
sunshade. The sunshade is like mother that covers the cars like
her babies from the extreme hot sun in the summer and the rain
in the winter. To the right of the car parking there is a small
garden that has a size of a two cars parked which contains a lot
of kinds and shapes and colors of flowers surrounded by a three
walls of small trees and stairs to enter the garden. In Spring, the
whole garden becomes like an orchestra with dancers; the wind
represent the orchestra and the flowers and trees are the dancer.
Moreover, there is a pathway that surrounds the house and take
the shape of the letter U. The right path is connected to the
kitchen, the left path has the second main entrance for the house
and middle one connected to the main entrance by stairs made
from ceramic and linked to the parking with another set of
stairs. All those elements make the house a modest house
compared to the surrounding houses. To the right and left comes
the neighborhood, and our houses are semi-detached, making
the three houses combined as friends holding each others hands.
Next, From inside the house is spacious and has two floors.
On the first floor there is a hall that is used for gatherings only,
especially for men gathering, and it has a specific name in
arabic that is Diwaniya. The Diwaniya is supposed to be a small
hall separated from the house that is what the old tradition
stipulated, but the house design was not going to work with
that, so the men’s meeting room was combined with the house.
It has a old fashioned style with modern entertainment setups
like the 50 inch television with the great sound system. I used
to make it as a cinema at midnight by turning the lights off and
turning the volume all the way up. Near to the gathering hall
comes the biggest hall in the house it is lofty like a futsal,
which is an indoor football hall. Also, it is shuttered so that the
noise does not bother the neighbors or the guests in the
Diwaniya. After that comes the Disneyland room for kids. It has
a castle shaped trampoline and a slide with a lot of boxes that
contains toy collections that I used to have, like the Toy Story
characters and many other characters that kids like. To the

right of the kids room comes a guest room for any visitor who
wants to relax. Beyond the two rooms comes the kitchen. The
kitchen has a professional design with the newest cooking
items. It can be used for a cooking show with an eating table
and two ovens and refrigerators, and it comes with a room
linked to stock the food that will last for a long period.
Furthermore, every room and hall in the house is self-contained
except the kitchen.
Then, comes the second floor. After taking the stairs up to
the second floor the first room that will be faced is the hall of
knowledge. It contains a small library that has books from
different categories for instance, some books that my mother
had since the college days, books about different religions that
my father reads, and childrens stories and dictionaries with
some fiction and science books that I like to read. Moreover,
there is a small office for my father’s business work. At the
early morning, the sunlight shines from the windows and that
gives the hall a reading atmosphere. On the right, my parents
room are connected directly to the hall of knowledge. In
addition, a small path separates three rooms with their own
bathrooms, my room and my brother’s and sister’s future rooms,
and because I am the elder I had the biggest room of the three.
It is as big as the hall that I have in my new apartment in The
U.S., colored by light gray and blue, those two colors remind
me of the beach and the ocean. In my opinion, my room is the
dream of any normal teenager. It is big that it has fitted a king
size of bed and a huge closet with a table for study and roofs for
my car collections. There is still a space for more Items like
another king size bed and a 40 inch TV screen. Although it is
the biggest room between the three, it is half sized my parents
room with nearly the same Items.
On the other hand, In the U.S, the apartment where I live is
located in Fullerton California. It is on the East Chapman
Avenue in a community called City Pointe. The apartment is
self-contained in 1152 square feet. It has two rooms and each
room has it’s own bathroom. The community has a shared

swimming pool and a jacuzzi. Also, they provide a small gym
and games room. It is a very simple apartment and cannot be
compared to the house in Kuwait. Further more, the apartment
has a great view of the main street and green nature and nearby
there is Fullerton downtown, which beautiful and quiet in the
night. It is only 10 minutes away from Cal State fullerton,
which make it the perfect place for me to relax and study.
Lastly, It is hard to get a house In Kuwait and It is so
expensive. Nowadays, a small land in Kuwait can have a price
of a furnished house in the United States. Also, the different
traditions makes the life different and because of that many
families in kuwait are gathered In one house. For example, you
can see a son that is married lives with his wife in his father’s
house by building a full floor in his father’s house or find an
apartment or an affordable house to live in. On the other hand,
compared to the United States I see most of the matures lives
away from their parents.
To sum up, each country of the to have it’s unique lifestyle
and people with different cultures. That is what makes me
wanna continue having two home because the mixture of them is
an adventure by itself. It is hard for anyone to get this chance to
experience different environments and if it happens to be I
encourage everyone to try it .
1
2
The Impact of Technology
The technology offered in this decade specifically is
getting more and more evolved every day. And many people
nowadays are thinking that their privacy is being threatened by

cellphones and new technology as a whole. They are right in a
way because of course there are going to be hackers out there.
But what people don’t know is that along with the companies
that sell private information easily, there are some institutions
working very hard to keep information about individuals safe.
Facebook, for example, gives away every bit of information, no
matter how private it is about someone to anyone requesting it,
but Twitter, on the other hand will try as hard as possible to be
on the consumer or account owner side keeping their
information safe. It seems like everyone is going for one side in
this war that is between using modern technologies and
abandoning it and staying away from it for good. It’s becoming
more of a dilemma between these two sides. People must know
the benefits and consequences of using modern technology of
today.
First of all let’s talk about what the so-called “advanced
technology” is, and what are the benefits that people can get
from it. Cell phones, laptops, videogames... etc. are all forms of
technology that we used daily and cannot just throw them away
and live without. Ever since the first computer was invented
half a century ago, technology has been evolving rapidly to
bring the world closer together and making life easier on
individuals. It became basic necessities that almost no one in
the world could do without. Providing Internet connection is so
essential that the United Nations made it a right for human
beings all over the world just a few years ago to let everyone
express what they feel and it is considered to be a kind of
freedom. Uses of technology have expanded enormously over
the years; it isn’t just to write letters and emails to other people.
In the safety field we have navigation systems that lead to better
use of roads; avoiding uneven or roads that are being
constructed, security alarms that save lives and properties as
well. There are certain technologies that lead to consuming
much less time to do some tasks like the copying and pasting
feature that is on the majority of devices nowadays and again
there are the navigation systems that can lead people through

different directions to avoid trafficked roads and cities, thus
consuming less fuel and ultimately less trip times. People can
also use modern technology to communicate with friends and
families, hold meetings and even face to face meetings on
certain devices and this makes the outer world so close to
anyone through their computer screen and makes it easier for
people to keep in touch with their loved ones as well.
Sometimes the use of advanced technologies could be just for
having fun and for recreational purposes. Kids and teenagers are
the ones greatly associated with playing video games and
enjoying their time the most just by sitting in front of a TV with
their favorite videogame or on their large screen cell phones.
Technology has become so evolved that teaching and learning is
now made possible on the computer and it’s so helpful that
some universities and professors are depending on it more than
books because it makes it easier to manage homework and
quizzes online than doing it the old way and wasting so much
more time.
On the contrary, of course there are going to be some
disadvantages to modern technologies. There are plenty of
people that won’t get some technologic devices because they
think that it’s a plan of conspiracy and their privacy is going to
be threatened. No one can deny that this is true because there
are some people whom are called “hackers” that are able to go
online and see what people are doing on their cell phones or
computers, they can even steal people’s credit card numbers and
private information. But this is preventable to a certain extent
in several different ways as installing an antivirus system on
computers and it is available even for cell phones too. Using
other paying methods such as PayPal can lead to safer dealings
with people whom anyone wants to buy from or sell to
something. Passcodes and fingerprints to secure files and
identities are becoming more frequently used today and can also
be a way of keeping one’s folders from being messed with or
stolen.
While the internet has essentially illuminated our world,

at the same time, it has also made it world a little bit darker.
Maybe a little more than a little bit. For example, people can’t
use face expressions while texting and it doesn’t allow to
people make eye contact or hand gestures which humans have
been familiar with ever since the human race got to know how
to communicate. That leads to a false understanding of what
other people are trying to say that it can lead to depression over
time. Other problems advanced technologies have caused are
piracy problems; thousands of people go online to steal
copyrighted materials such as songs or movies instead of
purchasing it, which is illegal. Though nearly no one does this
in the real life, people seem to do it all the time online. Maybe
this is due to thinking that no one can see them or actually get
them. This causes a huge loss in profit for successful artists. As
those people get more and more involved in the internet and
surfing it performing illegal actions, they tend to do more
serious crimes like threatening other people’s life or stealing
from them by force. Many people have been fooled on the
Internet. All these troubles caused by the Internet have caused
some sort of anxiety in the world today. People are getting more
skeptical about opening up and sharing stories with others for
the fear of being rejected and judged as being below the par of
being accepted that has been created be anonymous people, or
machines on the Web. This, in turn, leads to an enormous
decrease in productivity and use of human power while still
adding up to the amount of hatred people have towards each
other, as if it wasn’t enough already.
In addition to that, some people believe that the process of
using internet connection and browsing the Web can threaten
their privacy. Allen D. Kanner discusses this in his article by
saying “Some mobile phones collect and store an average of
twenty pieces of information per customer, including the
person’s age, gender, race, income, health, travel patterns,
interests, purchasing history, and whether she or he has
children” (588). I agree with a small part of what Kanner said,
and that is that the cellphone itself stores information about

someone, the cellphone itself is what’s choosing the
advertisement to be displayed for that person, not uploading
that sort of information to the agency to have people’s privacy
exposed. At this point privacy still isn’t an issue at all. It’s
what companies like Facebook do to make huge cuts and profits
that really threatens privacy, Facebook accounts are all
monitored and If someone checks the terms of use when first
signing up it clearly states that personal and private information
may be used anytime for anyone requesting it, so there’s
nothing to be surprised about really. Kanner also states, “The
ongoing integration of various media such as television,
computers, cell phones, and iPods means that information
collected through one media is automatically transferred to
another” (589). This is actually true if someone hooks up their
phone or iPod to a computer using the same account, then it’s
normal to have same ads, because it is the same person, so I
completely disagree with Kanner in this because it doesn’t
relate to threatening privacy whatsoever.
All in all, the message that is to be delivered is this: the
Internet is a double-edged weapon; it can be used for noble
purposes and evil ones as well. The Internet has really made our
world a better place to a certain extent, but it’s also made it
darker and more frightful along the way. It is necessary for
professionals to educate normal people about how to use the
Internet properly, not to be fooled by others, and have identities
copied or privacy exposed. People have to be wiser when
making decisions because even when making tiny decisions,
those decisions may lead to serious trouble after a period of
time. People cannot simply get rid of something that they’ve
been used to for years; that’s why they should be more careful
about using this series of spectacular inventions called
technology. In general, people have to be more careful when
using the advanced modern technology of today.

Works Cited
Kanner, Allen D. “The Piracy of Privacy: Why Marketers
Must Bare Our Souls.” Models for writers. Ed. Alfred Rosa and
Paul Eschholz. Boston; Bedford/ST. Martin’s, 2012. 588-590.
Print
1
2
My Outstanding Teacher
Teaching is among the most essential jobs that a
community needs all around the world and it has always been
this way along with the human race creation. Teachers have a
huge responsibility of teaching, delivering information to one
generation after another, and making sure that for generations to
come, people will be more knowledgeable. Most teachers are
great but what makes a teacher an outstanding one is wanting to

give more and more information in a simple, uncomplicated
way. That is why my professor, Bruce Rubin, has been my
favorite teacher of all time; he was well educated and has had a
great amount of information that he would give to us in class
while still trying to keep it as simple and fun as possible. He is
my favorite teacher of all time and has several traits of not just
a great teacher, but an outstanding one that make him
interesting to know about, that makes people really admire him.
Bruce Rubin was not only entertaining, but also he was a kind
of influence to me and I’m sure he was a source of influence to
others as well. Teaching was not only a job for him to get paid
and make a living, it was a passion that many other teachers had
lacked and thought that teaching was only a way to make a
living and survive the roughness of life all around. I remember
there wasn’t one time that he was late to class or forgot to
prepare lectures for the class. In fact, he used to prepare the
class physically as well; he would adjust the lights and the
windows and desks too. Rubin had a passion of singing too and
he sometimes showed up with his guitar or a video recording of
himself singing a song about the lectures we were having in his
class.
Moreover, Rubin is a man who has had different thoughts
and feelings towards life than other ordinary people around him.
He always looked at things from a different perspective and
from different angles; that is why he taught critical thinking
classes. He used to disagree with many historians and state his
opinion as to why he disagrees. He actually made sense in his
class and provided several proofs to support his opinion.
Although my teacher was very kind and compassionate, he
also was somewhat of being strict sometimes. He didn’t allow
any kind of cell phones to be on during his class. Rubin was
very strict when it came to students procrastinating doing their
homework or not willing to participate in class. Joanne Lipman
said in her article “Mr. K. pushed us harder than our parents,
harder than our other teachers, and through sheer force of will
made us better than we had any right to be” (408). My teacher

had been that way, too, and he forced those of us who didn’t
study and thought his exams were going to be easy, even though
they weren’t. In class assignments were mandatory and all the
ones who didn’t do it have had troubles for not having it done.
Some students thought that his kindness equaled good grades
and an easy class, but it was far from being so.
And Rubin was never disorganized. He prepared for each
class properly. He took his time lecturing and slowly moved on
from a subject to another, as the class was a long one. His class,
although long, was very fun and interactive; he made groups of
students and each group solved some problems together. He
made the class fun and kept it organized throughout the whole
semester. Not every teacher tries to change a class’ schedule
time just because it was on Friday noon, but he tried and went
to the department to change it, so we could enjoy the weekend
better.
Additionally, one of his best traits that made me really like
him is how he used to stimulate and encourage us. I recall when
I was late for the first class and felt something was strange.
“Come on in,” Rubin said. “ Introduce yourself to us.” I was
somewhat shy and just said my name and where I’m from. “Is
that it?” he asked. “What are your interests?” I remember
mentioning that music was an interest that I had and he asked
me what rock bands I liked, and I found out he liked the same
type of music I did. It was encouraging to me to see that my
professor has the same taste in music as I do.
Also, Mr. Rubin was very helpful with the entire class. He
dedicated about twenty minutes of his time after class to help us
with our homework and assignments. But it was him trying to
help us with our everyday problems and discussing it together is
what made me say that he was very helpful. He gave tips to
everybody in that class and made us feel better about ourselves.
The whole class students were satisfied with the advising he
gave to us. He also was cooperative even at quizzes and exams;
he stood up during the entire exam period to help us with any
questions we couldn’t understand. He was very welcoming to

answer any questions we had.
Certainly his lessons weren’t just in class; they actually were
mostly helpful outside the class. Thomas L. Friedman said in
his article “I have been thinking about Hattie a lot this year, not
just because she died on July 31, but because the lessons she
imparted seem so relevant now” (105). A true outstanding
teacher’s lessons can live and carry on with students even after
a teacher is dead. That was what professor Rubin’s students
would describe his lessons like; they last forever. Everyone in
his class had gotten more educated and his lessons helped them
with their everyday life. Lessons as how to be compassionate
with others, increasing the ability of the brain to absorb more
information, or dealing with hardships and some extremely hard
situations would definitely be there for his students when they
need them. Friedman also mentioned “To this day, when I forget
to wear a tie on assignment, I think of Hattie scolding me”
(104). That’s how Friedman remembered his teacher. I still do
remember Mr. Rubin but not that way, because he wasn’t that
type of person who would get angry when things would go out
of control. He knew how to deal with problems in a civilized
way. I remember if something went wrong he would take his
time to think rationally about it and decide what had to be done
after he made his decision.
Most people around the world seem to choose their idols
from the T.V. mostly, or perhaps from social media ways as on
the Internet. But it’s rare that someone would make a man who
he had met his own idol, let alone a teacher! For most people,
teachers are a nightmare that has a duty of grading as low
grades as they can. They are scaring machines to some people,
and quite frankly, some of them really are in a way or another.
As I speak for myself, I haven’t yet met mean teachers that I
can think of as of right now. Having a teacher as someone to
look forward to being like isn’t that common, not at all.
However, Bruce Rubin was that person to me, He was very
rational and inspirational in the way he spoke and lectured in
class.

Furthermore, Rubin was very caring and loving toward his
students. I remember on the last day of his class he gave each
one of us an invitation to go to his house, which was about three
miles away from the university. It wasn’t a party but something
more like a gathering. I was so happy to have a chance to see
him again after the semester had ended. He wasn’t just like
ordinary teachers who forget about their students as the year is
over. He felt the same way about us as we did. We wanted to
know more about his life outside of the class and he felt the
same too so he invited us to his house where we met his wife.
He had two dogs, one named Randy and the other one was
called Martin. No wonder those dogs were loyal to him and his
wife; he surely treated them well.
In conclusion, it was a very refreshing semester for me to
have Mr. Rubin as my teacher. It is that kind of teacher who
makes people remember him or her for the rest of their lives and
keep his lessons in a safe place in case they need them for their
life. Teachers like Bruce deserve to be cherished while they’re
still alive and be made as an example of what a successful man
should be like. It was people like my professor that make other
people believe that teachers can be the most essential part of a
community because of the effect that they have on their
students. He was a teacher but unlike most other teachers, he
had a passion towards teaching the book that he wrote, which
was about critical thinking. It was an unforgettable experience
to have him as my teacher. I have to say that Bruce Rubin was
truly amazing and the lectures he gave were works of art.

Works Cited
Lipman, Joanne. “And the Orchestra Played On.” Models for
Writers. Ed. Alfred Rosa and Paul Eschholz. Boston;
Bedford/ST. Martin’s, 2012. 408-410. Print
Friedman, Thomas L. “My Favorite Teacher.” Models for
Writers. Ed. Alfred Rosa and Paul Eschholz. Boston;
Bedford/ST. Martin’s, 2012. 103-105. Print

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