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Being a fifteen-year-old in a whole new country is weird and scary. When I first arrived in the United States, I felt lost, confused, and out of place. I was trying to find comfort and a sense of belonging in this new place, but I was struggling. I tried to find refuge in people I thought were going to make me feel safe. However, I quickly realized that those people were not going to be the students of my new, big and scary high school. I could not fit in among them. I was too innocent, too unrelatable, and my accent was too thick - I could not be understood. I was too different, too foreign. It was like we lived in two separate worlds. Thus, I went to the next safe group of people, the teachers. I would have conversations with my teachers
There are many challenges that one must face as we go through life. I have faced a few myself, however, none proved more challenging than moving from my country; Jamaica, to the United States and subsequently moving to the state of Wisconsin. Deciding to leave behind family and friends is the hardest decision to make, however, there are a few things that I was not prepared for that made the transition more challenging than expected. Moving away from all that is familiar culturally, socially and economically can be even more of a daunting task than imagined. There are things that are taught to us by our parents and others that are more dictated by our environment than anything else, so when I immigrated to the United States I had three major challenges to overcome.
Have you imagined leaving your homeland behind and settling in a different country? As a kid I always enjoyed the idea of traveling the world, and discovering new things, but never had thought it would be very hard to let go everything and leave. Growing up, I was always eager to meet new people, learn new languages, and make my own adventures in life. Soon, that dream turned into reality when my family decided to move to the United States of America in hopes of having a better future and new opportunities. I had mixed feelings and was confused about what to expect in the future. However, this was the biggest fear I have ever faced in my life. It was difficult to get adjusted to a new culture challenging because change brings the unknown and unfamiliar with it.
Coming to a foreign country is a daunting experience. When I first moved to America, I had to leave everything behind such as, - my family,friends, and life back home. Although I welcomed the change, I was also afraid. This fear hovered over me for a long time before I had the courage to let it go. My experiences, both good and bad, allowed me to break out of my shell, become a leader for my family, and strive against all the odds to achieve my goals.
Throughout my four years in high school I have been fortunate enough to fulfill many of my aspirations and my thirst for knowledge. One goal that I would like to achieve is to become an international attorney. I have aligned my involvement in specific academic and extra-curricular activities to aid me preparing for the long road between my present situation and the day I pass the bar exam. Through my high school activities I have learned three virtues that I have deemed necessary to achieve my goal, passion, self-discipline, and perseverance.
I felt as though I was watching a train barrelling towards me, an inevitable bullet that had come tumbling out of the opposing pitcher’s arm. But instead I stood immobilized, watching my team's only chance of winning whiz by me. Strike three. I heard my team from behind me shouting “SWING!” with my mind screaming the same. But my bat remained unmoving, the pop of the catcher's glove like the nail into the coffin that was our defeat. All I had to do to keep our hopes of winning hope alive was swing, and yet I couldn't. I stayed on the field afterwards, tossing the ball up in the air and swinging away, landing it on the thick maple barrel of the bat.
Since I still wanted to make friends, I desperately continued to try to break down the barrier between my peers and I and I slowly began to succeed. As I began making more and more friends, my experience in the U.S. started to become a happier one. Although there were still many things about American culture that I did not understand, I chose to face my fears head on which lead to a more content life. I realized that no matter where you are from, what obstacles you had to face, or what social class you belong to, coming to America gives you an opportunity to build a new and better life for you and your family. The journey to learn this lesson was not an easy one, but I’m glad I learned it.
My pre-calculus teacher walks forward with a large stack of papers and hands me an overturned test - normally a sign of bad results. I flip the packet over and I’m devastated by what I see. On this single math exam, I receive the worst grade I’ve ever had in a class - a 56. At first, I think that everybody failed, and that maybe there’d be a curve. But as my partner receives his test back, I quickly realize I’m wrong.
After nine moves I am more than familiar with being the new kid. The United States is diverse enough that just moving from one part of the country to another brings more than its fair share of culture shock. More recently I left home to go to boarding school in New England. After several years in the south adapting to the culture of New England was a long process. I was the youngest student on campus, something that I took great pride in, but something that meant that I had, even more, adjusting to do. Obviously, it will take time to adapt to a different culture, different language, and different family. At St. Paul’s I was welcomed into many of my friends' families and into the St. Paul’s family as a whole. I have learned that each family
Although I was born as an American Citizen, I started living in this country on July 26th, 2010. For personal reasons I had to stay in Tijuana, Mexico for almost 16 years. However, my situation on the arrival was not very different from many of the young immigrants that as me, they started school with little or any knowledge of English. I still remember my first day of high school with chills, imagine being dropped completely alone on your first day of school without knowing anyone, people rushing to their respective classrooms as the bell rings and you end up alone in the hallway without any idea where to go, a totally different place with enough hallways for the you to get lost, nothing you have ever seen before, and worse still you don’t speak their language, therefore you are afraid to ask for an orientation. Then you suddenly have a feeling of helplessness, loneliness and depression knowing for sure, that it will be a long year for you. As me, hundreds of students leave their home country ...
Throughout my high school experience, I've been able to obtain knowledge that I can use to better my life. Some of the classes I've taken have been a blessing in disguise. For example, I never expected to learn as much as I did about writing and literature by just simply reading. Many of my teachers have pushed me to my limits and inspired me to think differently from my peers. In general my best English experience was reading "MacBeth" by William Shakespeare in Mr. Elwell's class, where I also realized I had many English skills to improve on.
Moving to a different country at a young age can be a challenge, especially when most of my friends and family are not coming with me. I moved to the United States when I was eight years old. When I landed in Michigan in 2006, everything was new to me, the culture, the language, and the people. Coming to America was cultural shock to my system.
Do you remember your first week of high school? Most people when it comes to their first week of high school they remember it like it was yesterday. In my essay I will tell what my first week of high school was for me. My topics will tell how my first week was interesting yet boring.
Moving to another country and starting a new chapter of life are two of the most difficult things in life. Nobody wants to change, including me. In my country, Vietnam, people usually says that "if you have a chance to live in the United States, your future will be so bright because living in America is living on a field that is full of gold." When I was young and still as a child, my parent told me that we will be leaving Vietnam and moving to the United States in the future. When I heard that, I was so happy. Four years ago, my family and I moved to the United States with the hope of having a better future and the happiness of family reunion with my grandparent. On the way to United State, we always thought, expected, and hoped that everything will be okay and fine. After few months we have been living in the new country, problems started to happen. My parents could not communicate and understand people who spoken English because they had no chance to study English back in Vietnam. In Vietnam, they only used motorcycle. When they came here, they had to learn how to drive cars. It was really hard for my parents to find jobs since they could not speak and understand English, could not drive either. Everything was new and we had to learn and start everything from the beginning. It was really hard for my parent, including me.
Let’s flash back in time to before our college days. Back to then we had lunch trays filled with rubbery chicken nuggets, stale pizza, and bags of chocolate milk. A backpack stacked with Lisa Frank note books, flexi rulers, and color changing pencils. The times where we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive, but we did. Through all the trials and tribulations school helped build who I am today and shaped my future. From basic functions all the way to life-long lessons that helped shape my character.
My family and I moved to United States in 1998 from Albania. My parents believed that I and my sister would get a better education here and also it would be useful and interesting to learn another language and its culture. Considering I didn’t speak a word of English I was very scared about starting high school. I was scared about fitting in with the other kids, I was scared about not being able to understand them, and not sure how my culture would impact the way how I looked at things.