Hi, I’m Anselm and this is my student letter for my exchange year in the United States. I hope it helps you get to know me a little better.

I turn 16 in a few weeks and I live in Germany. Currently, I attend the tenth grade at my high school. I am a very motivated student, especially when it comes to topics in which I have a strong interest. I am also very curious and like to get to know new things and systems. I would describe myself as open-minded, and I am always up for new challenges and things to learn. I enjoy socializing with other people as well as doing different physical activities, like going out with friends or doing sports.

In my household I live with my parents and my two younger siblings. I also have an older brother, but he is already out of the house. The relationship between my siblings and me is very good, and we often do things together like playing cards or board games or just goofing around. I also have a really strong relationship with my parents. They always support me in every way they can, but still push me to strive for new goals and personal challenges.

I ride my bike for about half an hour to school and back every day. This is an essential part of my day because it helps me stay fit and also helps me wake up and clear my head. My favorite subjects are history and computer science, but unfortunately we don’t have computer science in the tenth grade. The workload until the tenth grade was pretty moderate, but now it has picked up a lot because the tenth grade is largely preparation for the secondary level. In Germany the school system is split into “Sekundarstufe I” (grades 5 to 10) and “Sekundarstufe II” (grades 11 and 12), which has much higher skill requirements. That is why I am now spending a lot more time studying and doing homework.

I help at home in different ways and also have various responsibilities. Each week we are assigned daily chores that we have to do, such as doing the dishes, setting the table, or taking out the trash. We also have a dog, and we have a schedule for who has to walk her and when. I usually take her for walks about three times a week. I try to keep a good balance between doing homework and enjoying free time, which I admit is still a learning process for me. When I enjoy my free time, I do that in different ways. We do many things together as a family like taking trips to nearby cities or taking a walk together. I also like watching some YouTube, but mostly I try to cut down my time on social media platforms and instead use it for something more productive like doing sports or going out with friends.

What I also love doing is volunteering in my church. I’m part of the production team, which is responsible for displaying song texts, slides, videos, and images on different screens and on the big LED wall during the sermon. I can imagine stepping into leadership soon, which means taking on more responsibility, like improving the current tech system, organizing meetings, and investing in other team members. What I love most about this work is that I get to learn from great people and have role models in my life that help me make better decisions.

Besides riding my bike, I like to do combat sports. I haven’t decided on a specific sport yet, but I am actively trying out different disciplines like arm wrestling and jiu-jitsu to find one that also has boys my age (which many unfortunately do not). For me it’s fun to challenge myself and compete with others. I also work out at the gym with a group of boys and a coach every week, which is really great to wear myself out and build some strength. It would be great if I could continue doing this in some form during my high school year. In the past I also played basketball for several years and would be interested in potentially picking it up again at high school in the US.

I’m also very fond of working with my PC in different ways. I used to game a lot, but soon realized that this takes away too much time from school and therefore I completely stopped. I learned basic coding with Python, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I really enjoyed these explorations, but it is also very time-consuming, especially when going deep into it or learning a new programming language. In addition, I learned the basics of 3D modeling, but I didn’t have the patience to really continue with it. I also like to read occasionally. One big project I have at the moment is reading the Bible at least partially.

One big strength I have, I would say, is that I am really curious, and always want to learn something new. Related to that, I think I am a fast learner and good at understanding systems. I am also very motivated to accomplish something when my interest is sparked in one topic. I would also say that I am taking on more responsibilities and that I am a reliable person.

In real life these strengths show in different ways. One of them is in the church, where I am coding things for ProPresenter, which we use to control the LED wall. There it shows especially how motivated I am, because I often do sessions that last up to four or five hours where I am just coding. I also did a three-week voluntary internship at the church during fall break, in which I mostly did coding work to improve the software performance and processes. I would also say that, when it comes to school projects, I am mostly very reliable.

When it comes to stress I think that I’m pretty decent at handling it. I usually manage to stay calm and think through a situation before I make any decisions which I could later regret. Sometimes I do get a bit stressed and frustrated when it is just too much. Then I often reflect on the situation afterwards and apologize to the people affected. Mostly I would say that I am a peaceful, easy-to-get-along-with person, and I try to avoid conflict if I can and easily empathize with others. If there is a conflict which I cannot avoid, I try to solve it calmly and reasonably. When I am in an argument I try to see the other side of the picture, but also share my perspective, so that we can find a compromise. Currently I am in a friend group that is really supportive and accepting, which I think really helps me. When I am not with people I know, I tend to be a little more closed off, but when I start to get to know the people I am around, I grow in confidence and open up quickly.

My current goals in life are mostly in the near future. Of course, I also have plans for my life in the far future, but I am not really focusing on them yet because they are still far away. Firstly, I want to finish the tenth grade. Then, after my high school year, I want to finish the eleventh and twelfth grades and achieve my “Abitur”, which is the equivalent of a high school diploma, just academically more advanced. After that I will most likely do a voluntary year at a church or social organization. Then I want to start studying computer science or business administration at university. My goal is to become a mature adult after graduating who is independent, intentional, and supportive of others.

I want to keep studying the English language after the exchange year. My long-term goal is to reach a level of English which is near a native speaker. I also want to improve my leadership skills because at some point I am planning to lead a bigger team. On top of that I want to improve my problem-solving skills in general and also under stress.

My specific goals for the exchange year are to get better at English and to grow personally. This is one of the main reasons why I am doing this exchange year. I also want to get to know the culture of America and especially the region where I will be, because I have already watched a lot of videos about the culture of America, but I think it is something completely different when you are there yourself. Probably the biggest and most important reason is personal growth. I think that an exchange year is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get new impressions, especially when I am still this young. When you always just live in the environment you grow up in, you will not encounter that many new challenges. In this exchange year I will be in a completely new environment where I don’t know anybody, and I already know that this will not be easy, but it will force me to overcome new challenges and give me a completely new perspective on life.

When attending high school next year I also hope that I will be able to take part in many activities and, when possible, support and learn in some technical fields. This could be church, but maybe also a computer or robotics club at school if that exists. In school I want to give it my best and actively participate in class. Overall, I want to be open, try out new things, and adjust to differences.

I think that I will integrate into my host family very well, which of course includes things like helping with chores and participating in family life. On top of that I think I could also share some things from my German culture. Of course, I would be ready to adapt to the rules of the host family, but I would also talk with my host family if there are some rules I really struggle with, to find a solution. I want to be open because I am there to learn new things and experience a different culture.

Thank you for reading my student letter and considering me as an exchange student. I am looking forward to the exchange year with great excitement.

Warm greetings,
Anselm

Interested in hosting—whether 6-8 weeks or the entire school year?