TOEFL essay: Imagine that you are preparing for a trip. You plan to be away from your home for a year. In addition to clothing and personal care items, you can take one additional thing. What would you take and why? Use specific reasons and details to ...

If I were to leave my home for a year, there is one thing I definitely would take with me: my cell phone. With my cell phone, I could call my friends or family if I ever was lonely, needed advice, or just wanted to talk.

If I were away from home for a year, I would be very lonely, especially in the beginning before I made friends. If I could call my mother and father, I would hear their familiar voices and I would not feel so lonely. Hearing my friends’ voices would also help me overcome my sadness.

I’ve never been on my own so there are many things I am not familiar with. I’ve never opened a bank account, got a driver’s license, or made my own food. If I had to cook chicken or something, I could call up my mother and she could tell me how to make dinner.
Sometimes, I may just want to talk in my own language. With my cell phone, I could call my friends and tell them about my new life. This would make them jealous of me. I would call them a lot so they could hear all the wonderful things I am doing.

For me a cell phone is a necessity. I would need it anytime I was lonely, anytime I needed to do something I didn’t know how to do, and anytime I just wanted to talk. Of course, the phone bill will be sent to my parents.