When I first read these lines, I was moved by the beautiful words. After reading it over and over again, I began wondering what I, myself, lived for – I had never before considered my purpose and goals in life.

At the end of 2006, I decided to quit my job in China and came to America get my MBA degree. That was the biggest decision I had ever made. I never imagined that I would be lucky enough to complete the many processes required for Chinese students to study in America in just a month. For most people, this usually takes about a year.

I didn’t think all that long about coming to America to study before I made the decision to do so. But it was still a very difficult decision for me to make. The hardest part of coming to study in America would be leaving all my family and friends behind in China and getting used to living a completely different country with much different culture than what I had lived in my entire life.

I am so glad that everything here has worked out well for me and I will never regret coming to study in Virginia. I have set goals for myself and I need to work toward them to better my life and make my dreams come true.

I can’t say that I came here to seek love, because I am always looking for love. I have sought love because it brings happiness — happiness so great that I sometimes think I would often have sacrificed everything else for it. Love can cure loneliness, fear and uncertainty; it helps me enjoy the beautiful stars in the sky in the middle of the night regardless of the darkness.

I’ve always thought the beauty of love might be too good to be true, and although love has given me much pleasure; it has also caused me much pain. However, I still believe love is the most wonderful thing I could have in my life.

Another reason I chose to come to America was to acquire knowledge. Knowledge is a powerful thing to have. I have gained the knowledge to live in another country, half a world away from my mother’s protection and support.

I have passed a driving test and have a Virginia driver’s license, I learned how to handle being pull me over while driving by a policeman, how to order food at a drive through window, how to get gas by myself, how to get along with an American boyfriend, how to travel from one state to another state without a system of public transportation. All these are things that Americans take for granted, but in China they are vastly different experiences, that is, if they even exist there at all.

Of course, I have also learned a lot of useful business skills in the MBA program.

Life in America is very different from life in China as you may imagine, but for the most part, the differences are for the better.

I love living with my roommates in a single family house and cooking with people from different countries; and I love driving my cute little Chevy from state to state and enjoying the beautiful countryside. I love learning about business and marketing in small classes and discussing how to solve problems and handle customers; as well as giving presentations and speeches.

I love working at my part-time job for a cool boss helping other students solve their computer problems; and I love having house parties with my roommates and friends, and getting drunk and waking up the next afternoon and partying all night again until the next morning! I love shopping in New York City and taking advantage of the good discounts they have during season-changes, I am having so much fun here in America!

I think the most important thing I’ve learned during my time in America is to cherish and appreciate the things I have. Life is so short and so fragile; and we never know what will happen.

We can decide what we’re going to do next, but it may or may not actually happen; it’s not always in our control. We all dream of where we want to be, but are we there now?

We may be working hard to get where we want to be and to live the lifestyle we choose to live.

We all say I WILL DO THIS IN THE FUTURE. But how long do we have? How much future is there?

A friend asked me if I ever think about death. Of course I do. However, it just a fleeting thought that goes in and out of the transom of my mind.

I can’t spend my whole life preparing and waiting for the bad things happen. When you shed a tear because you missed the sun, you might also miss the night.

Everyone has a dream, and of course, we keep chasing it. Our dreams can make our lives more meaningful and rewarding, but you might also find that life will be meaningful and rewarding when you occasionally stop and take a deep breath – and enjoy every moment on your way to making your dreams come true.

Peng Zhen, “Carrie” is an MBA student at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, whose American name is Carrie. She came to the United States in January of 2007 from her home in Xi’an in the Shaanxi province of the People’s Republic of China (the home of the Terracotta Army located inside the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum). In China, Carrie was a radar systems and aircraft technician. In Virginia, Carrie spent the last year as an indispensible student employee for the IT department at Shenandoah and her supervisor was none other than Don Silvius – also contributing to this issue. She recently began an internship with an electronics company in Maryland.