A Bag of Potatoes

Bags of sand that protected us from upcoming bombs, shrapnel, or any kind of dangerous objects flying around, were covering every inch of the nine windows we had in our basement. There was a bit of light squeezing through the bags, refreshing the silence of the dark room. Nobody was allowed to leave the ground floor. It was nice and sunny outside, terribly quiet though. Dog crossing the street, behaving like a little boy that owns the world, taking or leaving whatever he finds on his Sunday afternoon walk. Today is Sunday, February 27, 2000. It is nice and sunny, and there are no bags of sand covering my view.

I am here thinking about my future, planning my transfer to one of the best schools in the U.S. I am one of the few young men that got a chance to study abroad, to see what does it feel like to have a hope, to have an open window and a long arm collecting the education for you. In the part of the world where I come from, Croatia, people did not let themselves remove those bags from their windows. Life is passing by; things are changing slowly, too slowly. My friends, most of them studying at the University of Zagreb, are not sending me any emails. They do not have an access to computers; some do not even know how to use one.

My mother suggested that I should apply for the Rotary Scholarship, so I did. I was an exchange student in Monticello for the final year of high school. I went back to Croatia, and I decided I would like to get my degree in Business, here in the U.S., the most developed and economically the strongest country in the world. Here, where education is like a bag of potatoes with no end, I developed my urge for learning. I started at Parkland and I am now finishing my second year of the transfer program. I want to learn; I want to be offered choices in my life. I would like to go back home one day and clear all those windows my people's views.

I miss my parents, friends, and dog, However, I have a strong support from all of them. I enjoy so many things in life and what makes it more fun, I learn new things every day while studying here. In my new home, the Cosmopolitan Club, I make friends with people from all around the globe. It is a very special feeling when you present your country just by being yourself..