"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy."-- Norman Vincent Peale.
I was born and raised in what I feel is the greatest country in the world--the former Soviet Union. My life there was happy, and I have many nice memories. .
One special day was when was I was three years old, and my parents gave me a gift that I will never forget; a large, grey teddy bear which made a low bear-like growling sound. That bear meant so much to me because it came from the love of my parents. I was an active child with a variety of interests, and we lived in the countryside, where it was easy to find something new and exciting to hold my interest. My entire family was busy and productive. We had a vegetable garden and raised chickens and rabbits. We ate healthy from the fruit of our labor; eating homegrown vegetables and meat. .
My parents instilled in me a love for all living things, and I am grateful to them for that. At that young age, I started to have a great desire to work in the medical field and to help all living beings. My mother supported me in my interests and my favorite gift became a set to play doctor at home. As time went on, I grew up, and my interests changed. I graduated from high school and enrolled in college, but not in medical school. I went to college for computer science. Computer technology had just begun to develop, and I decided that it would be very good to keep up with the times. .
In the Soviet Union 25 years ago, it was completely free for students to get any education. By the end of college, I already had my own family and a child. A few years later, I strongly regretted that I betrayed my dream. At that, time big political and economic changes started in my country. The Soviet Union collapsed. Each republic seceded and became independent. It took 20 years or more. It was a difficult time for all of our citizens.