A little introduction!

Hello - Hola - مرحبا!

The name is Layal. I am a foreign exchange student from Lebanon currently residing in Charlotte, NC. Few things to know about me in person is that I'm a fun girl to be around. I get serious when needed! Heh. I have passion for soccer and writing fictional stories.. Planning to write a full novel soon hopefully. Arabic is my native language and I speak English fluently, currently learning Spanish too. I am 16 years old and I'm number 6 girl in my family, we're seven sisters. Yup, we're one big happy family!I love to keep a smile on people's faces, and I do my best to always achieve that! I believe that chasing your dreams will do give you a result, sometimes not so good one, but mostly happy and awesome result! My motto for life is "Hakuna Matata" No worries!!My goal for life is to become either a successful news presenter or a translator. Either one would make me really happy. And I do intend on achieving one of 'em..Since I came to America, everything has changed.. I don't really view things as I used to anymore, and now I do believe I can achieve anything I want! Just persistence and hard work!My #1 reason to take this adventure was to make a change, the stereotypes are just all over the place and many people are ignorant about others from different cultures and religions, I'm here as a young ambassador of my country, Lebanon. I want to change the way it, and the entire Middle East, are portrayed in the Western society. But at the same times, I want people back home to change their picture about Americans too. Everyone should pop out from the bubble they're living in and start to explore new places and cultures. One would be amazed by how much ignorance he possessed before being exposed to a new environment.So I stepped out of my comfort zone, ready to live an entire year away from everything I am used to, from people I love and from the community my heart belongs to.. It takes a great courage and confidence to do so, but taking this step in my life, there's no doubt I am going to be a woman much sooner than those my age. And a girl becomes a woman when she starts depending on her own self, when she becomes the hero of her own.. when she possesses great self-esteem and confidence.. And I believe that's what I am going to gain after this experience. I'm going to become a new, better person who always thinks for the future and not just for the present.I love the quote that says: The best way to learn about your country is to leave it. And I guess I'm starting to realize that just now.