In the book Immigrant kids , The author tells us that immigrants had a very difficult time making a living. When they came over to America, many were lacking the education and skills, so they had to acquire the lowest paying jobs. If you worked twelve, or even fourteen hours a day, you still wouldn’t have enough money to support your family, so everyone had to help. Even the children in these families had to work. These children were around eight to ten years old, and you would mostly find these children working in factories, warehouses, stores, and laundromats.…
But although I had a close family that doesn’t mean my family life was perfect or without obstacles. The respect for my family members is un-parallel by any other object in this world. On my fathers’ side, I learned what it meant for people to leave their homeland in Mexico for a shot at opportunity without guarantee and successfully build a life in Denver. On my mothers side, I learned what it meant for a family to endure loses that no family should and still stand strong. These loses included the loss of my aunty to demotic violence at the young age of 32 and the stroke of my uncle at the age of 33 that left him without the ability to walk and care for himself.…
I interviewed my old high school Spanish, Ivonne Osella. Ivonne was born in Mexico City. Both of her parents were from Mexico City, but her mother left when Ivonne was nine months old to live in the United States. Her mother was hoping to create a life for her son and daughter, and then send for them, when she had a home and was settled. But for the time being, Ivonne grew up in a rural part of Mexico City. She was raised by her grandparents, but there was also nine other people in the house including Ivonne. They lived in a small four room house and lived in extreme poverty. Ivonne was raised closely with her aunts and uncles, and they were all expected to go to school for the hopes of bettering the family’s current situation.…
This essay portrays how many first generation Americans feel about society. They believe that in order to succeed in America it is important to leave your heritage behind to become “white” and blend in. As if your heritage was a handicap and that you constantly have to try harder than everyone else to prove something. Being Filipino-American I am not exempt from this feeling. The media has played a big part in what I deemed normal as a child. I watched many television shows where families ate bread and dressed nice to dinner. Unlike my family which ate rice every night and wore slippers to the table. At a young age I was embarrassed of what made me special. Social interaction with other children even made me think twice about who I wanted to be. I always felt I was never invited to some of my friend’s houses because I was Filipino. This made me try harder to win the affection and friendship of my classmates. This essay expresses the feelings that many first generation Americans experience on their road to…
At nineteen years old, it is difficult to believe that I have had nearly two decades worth of experiences. Although it has been a bumpy ride with many ups and downs along this journey, I am who I am today directly as a result of those experiences and how I dealt with them. My family, school, dance classes, and peers have all had a hand at shaping the confident, bright, and enthusiastic college student that I have come to be. Immigrating to the United States of America from Armenia in 1988, my family has been one of the most influential agents of socialization in my life, greatly impacting how I perceive myself, the world, and the situations I find myself in on a daily basis. Shortly after my parents, older sister, grandparents, aunts, and cousins (totaling nine people) settled down in a twobedroom, one-bathroom unit house in Glendale, I was born. From what I am told, we lived in the small house, crammed with 10 people for a few months. Eventually, everyone except my mother, father, older sister and me found other homes and moved out. Two years after I was born, my younger sister was born and my family, as I know it, came to exist. My family, more specifically, my mom and dad, are responsible for what I learned during the early stages of my life. Although they tried to assimilate into American society, my parents undoubtedly also wanted me to be aware of my Armenian-American subculture. Since people can only teach what they already know, it is not surprising that my parents taught me first the Armenian language, as well as the values and beliefs common in the Armenian culture. I also learned the norms, both prescriptive and proscriptive, that my family accepts and follows and I continue to adhere to them today. Also, my parents passed on to me simple mores that have helped me learn to distinguish between what is right and wrong, ethical and immoral. Furthermore, my family has influenced me…
My name is Cosme Ramos, Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on the 31st January 1976. Parents are both Puerto Ricans (which in reality means mixed, Indian, Black African, and European). Not until third grade did we migrate to the United States, in search of opportunities and a more stable future. Being of a Hispanic decent made family a very important role, thus it was my primary group the only thing that was constant throughout or moves first from Puerto Rico to New York, and eventually to New Jersey where my immediate family still resides to this day. As a kid the change was drastic, life in Puerto Rico was more of the rural type, big yards, vegetation everywhere, smiling faces and friendly people. In the states, things were a bit different, now we co-inhabited with family we barely knew, in a small condo like apartment with no yard, and the only vegetation we would get to see is that on the highway mediums culture shock does not even begin explain the disorientation felt as a kid under those circumstances. Not to mention the language barrier that was by far the biggest hurdle. If it wasn’t for the strong bond and close knit Hispanic community the adjustments would have been ten times harder. Within months we were settled in Newark, N.J. parents had good luck found stable jobs enrolled in school now my biggest focus was that of going from a straight “A’s” student, to not even speaking the language. I had 6…
There are many areas of life that could be affected by someone who grows up in a multicultural family. The first could be in discipline in work ethic and in academics.. Some cultures are very disciplined and encourage and push their children to do well and excel academically, where as other cultures don't put as big of an emphasis on academics. They'd rather their children learn a trade, or take on the family business. Another area of life that could be affected by a multicultural family is beliefs. Many cultures have certain beliefs and stipulations that cause them to act one way or another. If you grew up in a multicultural family, there would be many traditions that would be embrained in you from both cultures. It could cause several conflicting…
On my search on immigrant families I came across an article that I found very interesting. The name of the article is The 7 Biggest Challenges Facing Refugees and Immigrants in the US; here is the link if you want to take a look at it https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-7-biggest-challenges-facing-refugees-and-immig/. I found the article interesting because it explains the main challenges immigrants face in a way that’s easy to understand. I am first generation in the United States so I am very passionate about this topic, and I know that this article could give good information to those who are looking to learn more. Not only that but the article mentions a lot of the same things the book does, for example both the article and the…
The day started off as any normal day. My mother woke me up and said “we must go.” Her voice sounded very urgent for what I thought was just a trip to the grocery store. My mom laid my outfit on my bed and packed by book bag; that’s when I figured out that I was starting school. I wasn’t entirely oblivious to the fact that I was going to familiarize myself with a completely different environment, but I just thought I had a little more time to prepare. Well, it turns out that I was wrong. You see, I wasn’t your average pre-schooler who was nervous about making friends. I was the immigrant child who had never spoken a word of English.…
As I mature, I am more aware of the issues that plague our country and hurt the liberty of citizens. As a person of color, a person of a religion that is connotated with false rhetorics, I have experienced these issues. In my adulthood, I hope to dismantle injustices in around the globe in hopes of influencing others people or even nation to enact change. I want to stick to my roots and establish an institution that will assist immigrants in finding economic stability and enable them to be perspicacious. I want to foster a sense of confidence and self-resilience in the parents and kids. The ability to remain motivated and maintain immunity against defeat is perhaps the most important ability I have acquired and I want to inspire families to follow that mindset as well. This aforementioned mindset not only works for immigrants but anyone attempting to overcome their hardship. The United States has put me on a path to success. Undoubtedly this path wasn't always paved, but rugged and relentless feet have carried me along. Therefore, I want to influence other to remain motivated and strive through the…
We live in a world surrounded by people of various ethnicities, cultures, and countries, who all speak various languages. As a young child, I attended a bilingual pre-school and elementary school where I was taught to be fluent in Spanish. I established unexpected friendships, spending a lot of my time in classmates’ Spanish speaking homes. I was absorbed into the Hispanic culture, eating new food, singing songs in Spanish, dancing Baile Folkórico, and hearing stories in Spanish around the dinner table. I learned about the struggles many of my immigrant friends had to go through in order to live in the United States. The lives of my friends were greatly different than my own. The difficulties my friends’ families had to go through, is something my family has ever needed to face. Despite these differences, my schooling taught me to break down language barriers. I learned that differences in culture should not define or prevent relationships from…
My national origin is America, but I have an understanding of the immigration experience from my parents. I am privileged to be an American living in America. As an American compared to a non-American citizen, I receive benefits, more likely to receive a higher paying job, do no fear being deported back to county of origin, less likely to be discriminated against due to birthplace, have the opportunity to farther my education and have basic rights such as voting. Because my parents are immigrants, I witnessed their oppression and my privilege. My mother had to pay for her college out of pocket. She was unable to receive financial aid because of her citizen status. My father could only work jobs that were considered off the books jobs. Off the books jobs are jobs that pay their employees cash and the earnings are not taxed. Jobs that my parents qualified for were very limited. They experienced oppression for being an immigrant in American. However, I did not…
School is a major influence in a child’s life. Immigrant children attend school and observe how their fellow American classmates act and growing up in this environment will definitely shape their life. They may have a different culture at home but the educational system will give them more knowledge on the history of the United States and culture. They celebrate American holidays in school and children carry on what they learned at a young age. The American way becomes the norm. Children bring what they have learned in school, home and their parents start to incorporate American ways with their county’s…
As far as immigration in my family goes all I know is that my paternal grandmother’s parents came to the United States from Ireland. Once in America, the two of them had three daughters: Catherine, Mary, and my grandmother, Anna (though she went by Ann and we always called her Nanny). They raised their girls in Jersey City, New Jersey until their passing, at which time their eldest daughter, Catherine, took over looking after her younger sisters before joining the convent.…
I grew up in an exceptionally sheltered household. My parents are intensely traditional Filipinos. I grew up learning Tagalog as my primary language with English as my second. I learned how to wash dishes, clean the house, and cook dinner at the age of eight. I grew up not having as many opportunities as everyone else. I was not allowed to play any sports as my parents' believed that I would constantly get hurt and I couldn't get my driver's license at the same time as my peers as they thought it would cause me to become reckless. My parents allowed me to take piano and guitar lessons, but I felt like they ostracized me from the world. This led me to resent my heritage for the longest time. I understood that the world they grew up in was different…