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The struggles of immigrants
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English is my second language, Spanish is my mom’s only language. My mom immigrated when she was 17 along with my father. When I turned 10 I got the “talk” not the “birds and bees” talk, I got the “I’m an immigrant”, I asked what that was and she continued by saying “It means that I can be taken any moment if mom isn’t good or you aren’t good”. I was afraid and cried for weeks, because I mean who wants to have their mom taken away? I always hoped of being a famous rock star, actress, pizza maker, but I already was someone I wasn’t aware of. I was a translator and a tutor for my family. Many people hear the stories of undocumented people, what it is like for them, the border, the pain they feel, but what about the pain the children go through …show more content…
In my family you have to choose a career that will benefit the family, we will soon have a family doctor, and a cop in the making and other beneficial stuff. I enjoyed law a lot, I loved it, but not the way I love English. My mom planned for me to attend a Law high school, so I did, I graduated, then everybody “knew” I would major in Law. I didn 't. I decided to be an “underpaid” teacher, more specifically English teacher. My mom was upset because she disliked English, the language, the reading, the grammar, everything. We did not speak for four months because of my decision, she was not proud. It hurt to not have my family 's support, but I was not going to let anyone force me to be something I did not want to be. I grew tired of waiting so I decided to be the first to initiate a conversation I went home and sat her down. I explained to her that this career means everything to me and that I need her support to get through it. I reminded her of how her parents forced her to study something she did not like and that forced her to come to America. This talk did help her over the time to understand that I will not be a lawyer rather an underpaid teacher, but a happy
In the essay titled “ Why My Mother Can’t Speak English” by Gary Engkent explains much about how his mother has been in restaurant business so many years, and also how she wanted to learn how to speak English before her husband died. Author states how Mrs. Engkent really wants to learn English just to get her citizenship to avoid losing her house and the pension she is getting from the government. That been said, comes the question about Mrs. Engkent visits her husband’s grave with her Citizenship paper, “She has something to tell him.“ Since this question is just an opinion seeking. I believe Mrs. Engkent is going to her husband grave to show her Citizenship paper and tell him how happy she was to receive that paper. Also, she might tell him
I thought that Diane Guerrero who is an American actress speech about her family’s deportation was interesting. She recently appeared on an immigration themed of Chelsea handler’s talk show. Guerrero is the citizen daughter of immigrant parents. Guerrero mentioned how her family was taken away from her when she was just 14 years old. “Not a single person at any level of government took any note of me. No one checked to see if i had a place to live or food to eat, and at 14, i found myself basically on my own”, Guerrero added. Luckily, Guerrero had good friends to help her. She told handler how her family try to become legal but there were no sign or help. Her parents lost their money to scammers who they believed to be a lawyer. When her family’s
The article Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan is a personal look into how language, and the dialects of that language, can affect a person 's life. It 's a look into how the people inside the cultural circles who use dialect derivatives of a major language are treated by people who exist outside of those cultural circles. It shows us how society treats a person using a "broken" or "limited" dialect, and how society 's treatment of these people can also affect the children who grow up using these "broken" dialects. Tan wrote this article try and convey to the reader that English is a colorful, and ever-changing language that has many dialects. Tan makes the point, several times throughout the article, that society judges you based on the type of English that you use. Throughout the article, Tan uses both her mother, herself and society 's treatment of them as evidence to support her idea. The purpose of pointing this out is to show the reader that the language a person uses, whether it be taught to them in school or by a parent at home, isn 't indicative of a person 's intelligence or value, and they shouldn 't be judged as less for using it.
“ Ironically I faced discrimination from other immigrants rather than Americans themselves”, stated Valentina Luma when she was been interviewed. This quote was the most relatable to my experience of being an immigrant to United States of America compares to hers. Valentina Luma was the age of nine when her and her family immigrated from Dominican Republic to the United States. Luma’s journey to the United States wasn’t arduous physically rather mentally where the process to get accepted took almost a decade, she admits to understand why some immigrants would rather come to America illegally than wait almost a decade to come. Some of the positive
Each and every day is hard to live through since whatever that can happen to my family absolutely terrifies me. Being a Chicana in the late 1960s hasn’t been a bed of rose petals, but I’m seizing every opportunity America will grant me. One of the biggest challenges is arriving home one day and my family is no longer there and they’re deported back to Mexico. Another huge obstacle is discrimination, we’re often called demeaning terms by complete strangers and it’s difficult to understand why or how they could be so cruel to someone they don’t know. It’s been tough to also learn a whole new language than the one I had been accustomed to. English is difficult with their pronunciations and strange spelling
When the school day came to an end, I would feel a nervous sensation as I waited to see if one of parents was standing on the other side of the school gate. From the conversations I heard amongst adults to the news I saw on TV, I knew that the possibility of never seeing my parents again existed. No one gave me a clear explanation of what was currently happening, but I was aware of one thing -- what the term “deportation” meant.
The career I am currently pursuing is Dental Hygiene. I chose this career in senior year of high school. My algebra teacher inspired me to choose this career path. I always visited with her after class, for she was my favorite teacher and I learned a great deal from her. One day while visiting her, she spoke about her husband and her two dogs. Her husband was a dental hygienist, and she recommended me to explore further into that career if I could not think of one myself by the completion of senior year. I eventually did consider it, but I decided to become a dentist instead because of the pay. I told her about my decision and she supported me, but was not pleased by my decision since dentistry was prone to take over lots of my life. The pay seemed certainly excellent but I did not know if it was actually worth my time. After learning how complex dentistry was likely to be, I settled for becoming a dentist hygienist.
However, I moved to Toronto alone when I was 12 for the better education system. Ever since then, I was raised by my aunt's family. Gong back to my early childhood, both of my parents practiced authoritative parenting style. They have always been loving and caring, yet they never spoiled me to a point where I could not appreciate their love and care. Coming from Korea’s competitive and strict education system, I witnessed many of my friends suffering from their parents’ high academic expectations already at the age of 12 or even before then. However, my parents never pressured me with school and their priorities were always the subjects and activities I enjoyed. Although, they still ensured that I was doing reasonably well in my less preferred classes, they never forced me to spend extra hours or sent me to numerous outside-of-school programs for such courses. When English became my favourite subject, they provided me with english tutors and eventually sent me to Canada. When I finally moved to Canada, my aunt’s family also practiced authoritative parenting style. My aunt and uncle already had two adult sons and were experienced enough to raise me in a good environment. They were a little stressed/worried about disciplining me at first—disciplining someone else’s child can be difficult—they eventually managed to do so by discussing it with my parents. Both my parents, and my aunt’s family did not alter their
“You are in America, speak English.” As a young child hearing these words, it did not only confuse me but it also made me question my belonging in a foreign country. As a child I struggled with my self-image; Not being Hispanic enough because of my physical appearance and not being welcomed enough in the community I have tried so hard to integrate myself with. Being an immigrant with immigrant parents forces you to view life differently. It drives you to work harder or to change the status quo for the preconceived notion someone else created on a mass of people. Coming to America filled me with anxiety, excitement, and even an unexpected wave of fear.
As an immigrant, my father worked multiple hours, starting his morning in the field work picking fruits, vegetables, etc. and evening at a restaurant. The little money collected, with time, my father was able to pay for the loaned money he used for a ?Coyote? that transported him from the border to a near city with family and to cross my mother. Both parents working morning and evening jobs were granted a residency card from their field job because of their extended years of working with the company. The residency card is to be renewed every ten years and as a resident, they are to obey the laws and stay out of trouble. Therefore, allowing my parents to have better opportunities such as; minimum wage jobs, Driver?s License and renting their own home. Although my mother had the opportunity to minimize her working hours and stay home with her children she continued to work and pay a nanny because she learned to work at a very young age and has been self- sufficient since then. The Immigration and Nationality Act is also known as the Hart-Cellar Act and other immigration groups have shaped my families past by being a diverse community. The different languages used in the U.S. is an advantage for those who are bilingual and there is a high demand for bilingual speakers. Also, the work and wage opportunities there are now available for those with their
At a young age, my teachers and parents taught me to believe that I could do and accomplish anything that I set my mind to. I grew up thinking that I was unstoppable and that the only limit to my achievements was the sky. However, during my second year in high school, I began to realize that I was not as unstoppable as I had thought. I began to experience the consequences of my parent’s decision of bringing me to the United States illegally. Among those consequences were, not being able to apply for a job, obtain a driver’s license or take advantage of the dual enrollment program at my high school, simply because I did not possess a social security number. I remember thinking that all of my hard work was in vain and that I was not going to
My family has become very concerned with the current hostile political climate. Although their status has always been a concern it has never caused so much fear and uncertainty as it is today. Mexican and Mexican Americans have been a target for discrimination for many years as explained at the beginning of this section. It is unbelievable to think that what people of my ethnic group experienced about 90 years ago, is still happening today. It is clear through my parent’s story that their main reason for coming to this country was to be able to provide a better future for their families back home and their children. Which was something that would not be possible in their beloved country. My heart breaks thinking that my cousin who was brought to this country when she was three months old runs the risk of being deported to a country that she has never lived in. This is her country, and just as the Mexican and Mexican American farm workers who were deported in the 1930’s all she wants is a chance at a better
Surprisingly, within the first year of being in high school, I took and passed the High School Competency Test (HSCT). I had no idea what the acronym was, all I knew was that I needed to take that test an passed it before I can graduate high school and go to college. My counselor was surprised, but happy for me. From that day on, he spoke nothing to me, but college, and how bright I was. Eventually, I told him, I want to be a lawyer. He replied yes, you can be a lawyer, one day, but now what do you want to be. He started telling me about his daughter who works at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Finally, I realized that he thinks I should become a nurse. I started to question myself, I asked, did he heard what I told him, that I want to be a lawyer or did he ganged up with my dad to convince me that I need to be a nurse. I went home confused, and I got into a deep conversation with my dad. Well, he managed to convince me that nursing was the shortest, and best option for someone like me. He reminded me that I needed to make the way for my little sister who is now an
She attempted to get me to switch my minor to business or language, even though I made it clear I had no interest in either subject. This was a big deal to me because I usually do everything my mother asks without putting up much resistance. This was the only time I did something that was just for me. I’m glad I did not switch. Drawing 1 was one of the hardest classes I ever took. I had to sleep in the studio just to have enough time to finish my artwork, as did all of my classmates. The entire class of about twenty people became close, a result of spending every meal together. I learned how to be friendly in this class, and my awkwardness from high school evaporated. Even though I loved Drawing 1, I still wanted to make my career in the
Language is like a blooming flower in adversity – they are the most rare and beautiful of them all as it struggles to express itself. It blooms and flourishes in strength, awe, and passion as the riches of thought is imbibed from the seed and into a finished beauty. For others, a non-native person speaking in a language that they are not familiar with sprouts out like a weed – the way its thorns can puncture sympathy and comprehensibility. Amy Tan, however, addresses the nature of talk as being unique under its own conditions. In Tan's “Mother Tongue”, she discusses how her mother's incoherent language is “broken” and “limited” as compared to other native English speakers. When focusing on Amy Tan, she grows noticeably embarrassed with her mother's lack of acuteness in the language, which then influences Tan to “prove her mastery over the English language.” However, she soon learns from herself and -- most importantly -- her mother that a language's purpose is to capture a person's “intent, passion, imagery, and rhythm of speech and nature of thought.” With such an enticing elegance...