The Day I Came To America

Divine Anozie Common App Essay I remembered I was 4 years old flying a plane to a place I have never seen before. I touched down in a dry, humid place with little to no green trees, but all the people there looked like me. Living in America has always made me wonder what life back home was like and I got the chance when I was about 4. If only I could remember most of the things I experienced. At the time I was living in your average suburban neighborhood but I never forgot where I came from. My parents are both Nigerian immigrants and came to America for a better life and stronger opportunities for me. I always loved America and all the things I benefited from
Well I got the chance to go back home in 2013 and this experience changed my life. My plane landed and I was eager to see Nigeria again. We got a taxi and left the airport. I went from seeing all paved roads to all dirt roads. The roads were bad but the traffic was even worse. My family and I would spend at least three hours to get to my uncles house. It should’ve only taken about 30 minutes but nobody follows the traffic signs which leads to traffic hold up. I honestly only saw two traffic lights and when traffic got so bad people got out of their cars and directed the traffic themselves! I found it crazy how easy it was to get from A to B in America versus doing so in Nigeria. We reached my uncle’s house and on the way there I noticed the poorer villages where the kids took showers outside and probably had no running water, compared to me back home. Even though there are many poor people, there are still families that have nice homes and electricity. They aren’t living in straw huts with lions, which is a common stereotype in America. We then visited my aunt on my mom’s side and she lived in a pretty nice house. We stayed there for a while but I always noticed a peculiar smell. There was a man burning