The Teacher Who Changed My Life Analysis

Imagine, a family, tired and broke, running through utter darkness with nothing but the cloths on their backs. This family will wander for days before they reach safety. From one place to another, a person does not forget where they came from. An example of this occurs in both the essay “Letter to a Young Refugee to Another” and the short story “The Teacher who Changed my Life”. What would it be like to move to a place that only has a promise of an improved life? Throughout history, people have migrated from one place to another in search of something, although frequently they forced from their home to a place unknown. In the essay “Letter to a Young Refugee to Another”, Andrew Lam explains what it was like for him to get evicted from his country in hope to find a new home in safety. When he was driven from his home, he was only eleven-years-old. Through the numerous problems that he faced in Vietnam he found refuge in a camp and later came to his new home in America. Although he made it out of Vietnam his father did not. He stayed in Vietnam in hopes of his family surviving. Lam was successful in school and went into a career as a writer.
Although becoming a refugee is bad, good can come out of it though people that is met along the path.
In the short story, “The Teacher who Changed my Life”, Nicholas Gage experienced being oppressed by the government. Prior to coming to America, he grew up in Greece for the first eight years of his life. While two of his sisters and him made it safely his mother was not lucky enough to escape the wrath of the government. Once he was in school, Gage met a teacher named Miss Curd. Miss Curd was young teacher that believed in her students abilities; she taught Gage how to perfect an outstanding writing ability. With her help, he was able to share his story and was able to receive an award from the president. Throughout his life he was able to become friends with Miss Curd and even gave her eulogy at her
funeral. Even though both Andrew Lam and Nicholas Gage were not from the same part of the world, they both have many similarities in their stories of their life. Whatever happened in their past, they both had a positive outlook on life, which help them succeed in their careers. In their careers, they also have a similarity that they both wrote about their experiences. Lam stayed in a refugee throughout most of the story, but likewise Gage was also in one, just not as long as Lam. It is interesting to see that there are many common aspects of their life, which add to their story that they tell. As a result, refugees have helped shape the world all around. It is through the help of refugees that America was formed, and that is why it is important to be tolerant of all of the around. Despite the fact that most people share their story, everyone has one. Refugees do not have a choice on whether or not they want to leave, but they are forced to leave everything behind. When a refugee comes close, it is important to help them because they left everything behind.