About seven billion people live in this world, each beating heart goes through their own changes, whether it’s becoming a military personnel or simply running away from your home and experience the world through your own eyes. My significant change came at an early stage, without any hesitation my parents sent my sister and I to Nicaragua for 4 years. After we landed the only person I knew that spoke English or was from Miami was the flight attendant itself, after that it was my sister and I against a family that we briefly recognize.…
“How would you guys feel about moving?” Those words both excited and frightened me. They were not surprising to hear, as there had been hints that it might happen for a long time, but I was still shocked. Leaving my home of twelve years, where I had gone through school, made friends, and grown up, was not going to be easy. At the same time, however, it represented new opportunities that I didn’t have in the suburbs of Dallas. I imagine that this was what Deo and the Lost Boys of Sudan felt as they journeyed to their new lives in America, but on a much lesser scale. As difficult as it was to move to rural Northwest Iowa, I cannot imagine the difficulty of immigrating to the United States from the war-torn parts of Africa. At the same time, through reading and watching their stories, I was able to relate somewhat because of my own experiences. I have realized as a result that I should…
I came from a poor, but close-knit, immigrant family that through luck and sacrifice rose to upper class too quickly. Almost a decade after amassing this mismanaged wealth, it was squandered and became the cause for many of the problems in the family, including drug dependency, abuse, and the total loss of unity that we enjoyed before the money came in faster than it could be spend. By the time I was 18, I joined the Air Force to carve my own path in life. In hindsight it’s clear now how fucked we were from the…
In today’s society, we as Americans of the United States—the younger generations—often well-overlook the struggles of our parents, grandparents, and so on. The United States of America is globally referred to as the land of opportunity. The reason why we take for granted the fact that we are very fortunate as to being provided with an education and if you are a member of the middle-class society, everything in life might seem very great and easy for you—maybe too easy. Despite the struggles one may grow up with though, however difficult or unforgivable as they may seem, everyone should rest assured so that they can have the ability to believe in themselves and persevere towards your purpose in life, because anything may be accomplished…
Indeed, moving to United states was not easy as I expected but it was fun and exciting. I did not know before why my parents wanted me to face new experiences, but now I understand that everything they were doing and still doing for me is an expression for their love to me. I still remember the day when my mom cut my hair, I was sad, I did not know why she wanted to do that, but today I realize that it was an experience of love, she wanted to show me that I was not making right choices when I used to go out without telling her. When I got here to United States, I did not speak english and I felt as my life started over because I could not talk or do anything since the…
My father is a Sicilian combat veteran from Brooklyn and my mother is an immigrant from El Salvador. The disparity of their backgrounds is immeasurable, but their lives have impacted me greatly. They divorced when I was 3, but their relationship is unbelievably strong. I lived in a diverse environment, speaking different languages and existing in polar opposite lifestyles. The dichotomy molded me and influenced my character, perspective and state of being. Under my father’s roof, I endured a military-style upbringing-but the love was apparent. I was encouraged to play sports and excel in my academics. I am competitive in nature, and exceeding was always my aspiration. However certain events have caused me to falter, but I now understand that the duty of each human is to delegate their time for the advancement of the species and if no one holds you responsible, it is imperative that you do so.…
I want to talk about how I came across obstacles in my life in America. I was only eleven years old when I came to United States. I started going to school few months before 5th grade end. Then when I was in 6th Grade, I was the only Burmese person in school. I was bullied and insulted in school for who I am and where I came from. Before I came to United States, I thought everybody would be friendly to me and help me in anyway that they can, because I’ve been hearing all the great things about United States. When I got here, it was totally opposite of what I thought it would be. I had no fun going to school. All I thought about was to go back to my country, but something inside of me kept telling me that I have to work hard to make my parents…
March 2nd of 2011 in Charlotte NC I just receive 2 phone calls. The first one was from my lawyer in Morganton notifying me that several indictments had come through. The other was from Detective South of the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, telling me that I had no choice but to turn myself in. I remember him saying “If you run I will find you”. I thought about running from my troubles, but that isn’t a life that I wanted. The next day I took the long drive from Charlotte NC to Morganton NC knowing that I was going to jail for a long time. I turn myself in at the Magistrates office thinking that I will be showed some leniency, after all I was only 18 years old and it was the first time I had been in trouble. I thought wrong, I was given copies of my indictments and arrest warrants, given a 23,000 dollar bond and placed in Jail. I cried like I have never cried before, after all I was only a teenager going to jail with grown men.…
About ten years ago, my family moved to this country. As a Mexican legal resident people believe I didn’t struggle; however, I often remind them that I also come to the United States with little to no knowledge. I was expected and demanded to learn a foreign language, which was going to aim me in the future. A future that was unknown, surrounded by a different culture.…
My story beings like any other, at the moment I took my first breath on July 30th 1998 in Bilisht, Albania. I was born in a small town in the lower region of Albania where my entire family lived with my grandparents under one household. My parents soon came to the realization that the current living situation was incongruous for a new family, such as ours, to thrive. As the result, my parents chose to apply for the government program granting our family access to move into a completely new society with new laws, regulations, political aspects and that was tens of thousands of miles away. Our family, at that instant, had a struck of luck as my mother’s name was drawn for us to move to the greatest country the United States of America.…
Have you ever heard of the first thanksgiving? Well, there was one “how to” story for teachers to be able to teach their students effectively. Written by Chuck Larsen, the story was entitled, “Information for Teachers”. In the story, Larsen explained that the majority of Americans were taught in school – which was not entirely true. An interesting guy Larsen was. His ancestors witnessed the first official Thanksgiving and what emphasizes this is that his ancestors originated from both the pilgrims and the Indians. It's a challenge to know a wide spread of knowledge and having to choose the important information to share.…
United States has always been recognized throughout the world as the “Land of Opportunity.” The attraction of the promise of freedom, wealth, prosperity, and success had drawn millions of immigrants to come to America and search for a better life. One of the most important aspects is that the U.S is an egalitarian nation which opportunities are given based upon ability or achievement, rather than social status or circumstances of birth. My aunt was the first member in my family to move to the United States. She moved with my uncle from Taiwan during the late 1970s and married in the mid-80s. Due to my aunt’s success in the foreign land, my mom decided to send me and my sister to the U.S in search for a better life as well as a brighter future. Although life was tough and many hardships were faced, however, the experiences proven to be very valuable and useful.…
When I left the United States, I was convinced I was ready to live on my own. I believed I was mature enough to succeed without the help of my family or language. I also, very naively believed that I would quickly master the new language without much effort. This naive attitude was quickly adjusted, as I arrived at my host family's house in Nienburg, Germany. My little four-year-old host sister ran up to me and excitedly said something, which I couldn't for the life of me understand, despite my desperation to. She looked up at me with the saddest eyes when I couldn't respond and I felt an awful pang of guilt when I saw the disappointment in her face. This moment, was one of many that showed me the errors in my previous way of thinking.…
“The most important thing in life is being happy and healthy,” my father always advises me and I believe everyone should live happy and healthy lives, but over the years I have experienced countless history classes as well as watched and read what feels like thousands of news reports that address conflicts and disasters outside and inside of the United States. As I got older I realized that living in this country has presented me with a considerate amount of opportunities to better my life and to accomplish my goals, but unfortunately not everyone can live in the United States. There are people inside and outside this country that are suffering hardships I can’t begin to comprehend; meanwhile I don’t have to wonder when my next meal will be presented to me, nor do I have to worry where I’ll be sleeping or if…
In my past, I was a partier. I did drink and experimented with drugs. Becoming a mother made me not interested in those things anymore. I was thinking about how to be the best mom I could be, how to better mine and Cheyenne’s life, and what to do next. I believe this is normal when you have a kid. I took all these thoughts into consideration though. I did not grow up knowing my birth family, I was in foster care. I really did not want that for my daughter. To keep this from happening I continued to think, and wanted to…