Dear host family, My name is Shanelle I live in a family of four, with my mom, dad and little sister who is 3 years younger than me, we’re a very close-knit family. I have a very close relation-ship with my mother, I talk to her about friends, boys, school but also about my fears and when I am not feeling great. I hope that I can create that type of relation with my future host mom. We have dinner together every night, each one talks about his day. My father always make us laugh with work anecdotes, but I think the moments I love the most with my dad are whenever it's just the two of us on the road, we blast house music at full volume because he’s totally obsessed with Tomorrowland and I just feel so close to him because of our common interests. Then I have to talk about my little sister, who is no longer a baby, we always had a conflictual relation ship like every siblings I think, however we are very close my parents always say I am a role model for her, but I admire her a lot because of her strength of character and she helps me a lot during every steps of my life good or bad. Finally I am also very close of the rest of my family like my uncle, aunt and cousins. They actually are our neighbors, our two house are right next to each other with a gate between them, but I can’t talk about everyone. Even if I am very close of my family I have always been the independent one, I’ve always wanted to explore new cultures countries and people, and I am very lucky to travel a lot with my parents. Spending a year abroad as an exchange student has been my dream since I was ten because of a youtube video of a exchange student I saw at that time, and it has never left my mind since. I can’t wait to discover your culture, that I’ve only managed to catch glimpses of during my many trips to your country, but also to give a little of my French and Portuguese culture because my dad was born there and all my dad family lives still in Portugal. I’m gathering information for this exchange year for so long now, experiencing the American highschool is like a dream that I only see on my tv shows and the thought that it’s really going to happen just makes me beyond excited and happy. I really want this experience to be a life in a year and not just a year in a life. My life in France is really paced by school, we have a pretty packed schedule. I am in a private school in a European class where English is more deepened, that want to attempt excellence. I always been a really good students and have great grades an overall average of 16 out of 20. My parents always pushed me to be the best, not to just be content of a 15/20 and not to rest on my laurels. I also put a lot of pressure on myself to make them proud but also to build the best possible future for myself. Most kids might have dreamed of becoming firefighters or actors when they were ten, but I dreamed of getting into Yale. I think it shows my ambitions. Of course, I’m now considering other paths. For now I would like to get a dual diploma, French and American, and then to go in a international school of business marketing, still not in France. I really want to succeed in life. Now a bit about me, I practiced gymnastics for 13 years, it taught me a lot of things like discipline, and resilience. I also always been passioned by fashion since little, I always drive my parents crazy for new clothes that’s one of my flaw. I love to hang out with my friends, they are very important for me, I have 3 close friends at school we form a quartet, and one best friend thanks to our parents. We like to hang out every Friday nights after school, it’s like our ritual. I like to make the most of my youth. I love restaurants, concerts, getting ready with the girls before a party and reading romance books. To conclude I am a girl perfectionist, truly kind, polite, open-minded, ambitious, curious, patient, attentive, diligent and authentic. But I am also a girl insecure, sometimes naïve, who overthink a lot, really slow in my actions, spendthrift, superficial in appearance, and I really lack selfesteem. I hope you’ve gotten a glimpse of all the facets that make me who I am. I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read my letter and review my file. Thank you as well for potentially welcoming me into your family. With all my gratitude, Shanelle