First Impressions

I was sure that a pretty cheerleader with her short skirt and snippy attitude would put my head down the toilet at some point during the day. I was sure I wouldn't fit in. There was no way, I was too different. No one would want to be friends with the girl with the thing on her head. The only way I would be considered "cool" is if I completely let go of what I believed in, put on a short skirt and some high heels, and bullied those who were weaker than me.
I braced myself for having the worse two years of my life.
The movies I used to watch in Palestine like  ''Clueless'' and ''Mean Girls'' fed my fears and misconceptions. These movies and others like them were my only window to American society, and they taught me that in order to succeed in America, I must look like a Barbie and show no mercy to anyone in my way.
I learned that people like me, foreign, with a different set of beliefs and a unique appearance were doomed to be criticized and marginalized. In Palestine, I was student body president, here I would be avoided. Eating lunch on the bathroom floor was definitely in my future.

I told myself that I had to make a choice... I either had to let go of who I was to become someone else and please my peers, or to stick with my identity and hope for the best. I chose the latter.
Today, six years later, I find that decision to be one of the best I have ever made.
I made friends my first day, people appreciated and respected the differences I brought, everyone was impressed with my "perfect english", and I won the best personality title in the graduating class of 2008.
I am still not sure if the reason I've had a such a great time since I've been here is because I had extremely low expectations, or if it is because people in Virginia are just generally really nice...
Whatever the reason may be, I was happy to see that although my differences raised some questions in the beginning, I was able to overcome them and people accepted me once they had the chance to get to know who I was.

One of my friends in high school once told me; "When you walked into class, I thought you were going to be really quiet and isolated, and I didn't think you could speak any English. But then you started answering questions and... well I just didn't think that kind of English would come out of you!"
I quickly learned that this was a trend. When people first speak to me, they default to speaking slowly and loudly. To be completely honest, I really do enjoy the look of surprise that I get after I respond. It never gets old.