When it comes to changing the way that we perceive or act upon certain aspects in our life we might be afraid of the consequences. Changes can be interpreted as being good or bad, this all depends on the attitude that we carry along. Throughout, the years I have learned to adapt to changes. I have learned that if you look at change with a positive attitude than this will help ease the fear of change. If I were to identify myself to one of the characters in the story I would identify myself, as is Haw. Haw was afraid of getting out of his comfort zone. He was debating on whether the change will be good for him or if this was going to affect him in a negative way. Oftentimes, we are afraid of the outcomes that come along with change. According to Dr. …show more content…
Although, it was my parent’s choice, this change impacted my life significantly. Being brought to a country where many did not understand the language you spoke was the most challenging aspect of this change. I was afraid of this new experience, I didn’t know how to adapt to a new environment that was not so welcoming to my origins. Going into the fourth grade without speaking the language that all on my classmates spoke was a challenge for me. Since I did not speak the language most of my classmates and I didn’t interact. I felt lonely and oftentimes told my parents that I wanted to go back to our country where all my friends were. At this age I didn’t really understood the reason of why my parents brought me to a different country until I was older. As I was adapting to the new changes and challenges that came along with this change, I started to look at it with a positive attitude. I realized that looking at change with a positive attitude not only made me look at things from a different perspective, but it also allowed me to adapt to the new changes and incorporate them into my life in order to be were I am right
Language is an important part of who we are. It influences the way we think and behave on a great scale. However, sometimes it is forced upon us to go in different directions just so we can physically and mentally feel as if we belong to the society in which we live in. Just as we see in Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” and Richard Rodriguez’s “A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, both authors faced some challenges along the way by coping with two different languages, while still trying to achieve the social position which they desired.
Some people hide from change thinking that it will never find them, but change is happening all around, whether it is the seasons or how people think and act things change. Sometimes though, as quickly as the world changes, there are people and things that may not change with everything else. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are people who refuse to acknowledge the world changing around them and try to reverse the changes that have already occurred. Two of these people afraid of changes are Bob Ewell and Walter Cunningham. Two people who become accepting of change are Miss Maudie and Aunt Alexandra. Fear of change is one of the root problems in society.
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.
It was difficult for me because I didn’t always understand certain words or phrases in English that I knew in Spanish, and sometimes I felt left out. In the middle of the year, my family moved me to a school with a Bilingual Program. Again, I had a hard time because now I had to learn all of the letter names and sounds in Spanish that I had been learning in English.
In conclusion, learning English was a challenge when it was first introduced to me, but now I have overcome that challenge. I am able to defend myself in the outside public world of English with no shame at all. I now understand how fortunate I am to know another language different from my own. For me, it is important to still have my first language because it is a way to retain the Mexican culture. It is just the way I was raised to believe.
My parents did everything they knew to help my sister and I learn and respect our Mexican culture. Born into American culture but raised by Hispanic parents, often was difficult for me. Since I was little I had to manage and balance two very different cultures at the same time. There were many times while growing up that I encountered complex situations in regards to language, whether to speak Spanish or English and when it was appropriate. I felt a lot of pressure having to act as an interpreter for my parents when we were out in public. At home I was told to speak Spanish so I would not forget, but at school I was taught to only speak English with my teachers and friends. However, when we would go visit family in Mexico, I was expected to only speak in Spanish, since speaking in English in front of family members who only spoke Spanish was seen as disrespectful. So learning two languages has been very beneficial to my life and for my family. By
Moving far away from family and friends can be tough on a child at a young age. It has its pros and cons. One learns how to deal with moving away from the people they love and also learn how to deal with adjusting to new ways of life. Everything seems so different and at a young age one feels like they have just left the whole world behind them. That was an experience that changed my life as a person. It taught me how to deal with change and how to adjust. It developed me from a young boy into a mature young man.
A few months before all of this I was pleased with my calm life in a local city of Taiwan. I settled there at the age of two with my family, and things were going well so far. Because I lived there for ten years, the longest time that I ever spent living in one place, I had made really good friends and was not looking forward to any significant changes although my mom had told me a long time ago, we might move to USA to settle with our uncle and grandma. My mom also told me that the other reason we move is for a better education and life there but I was not listening at that time. I thought she was just joking around because my brother and I have always expected to have a vacation to other countries. By the time I finished my first year of middle school I knew that this was nearly impossible. My family was already packing up, cleaning out the house, and reserving four airplane tickets to USA.
For as long as I can remember learning how to read and write was a real challenge for me. When I first arrived in the United States I was enrolled at the nearby elementary school. Being from another country I was scared and embarrassed because I was different then the other children in my class. Talking and communicating with others was something that wasn't in the interest of what I wanted to do. I sat far away from others depriving myself of what they were doing or learning. Coming from Mexico and going to a school where no other children would speak the same language that I would or even play the way I did made me believe that I was some sort of thing that didn't belong. All these contributed to a low esteemed child that was unable to communicate. The world I was in suddenly became a place that I didn't know. To the kids and others in my class I was an illiterate person.
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.
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.
It was a beautiful, sunny day in South Florida. I was six years old, playing by the pool with my new puppy. I loved swimming in the pool almost every day after school. I also enjoyed going out on our boat after school or crossing the street and going to the beach. My father came home one evening with some interesting news. Now, I do not remember exactly how I felt about the news at that time, but it seemed like I did not mind that much. He had announced that we were going to move back to my birth country, Belgium. I had been living in Florida for five years and it was basically all I had known so I did not know what to expect. I had to live with my mom at first, and then my sister would join us after she graduated high school and my father finished settling things. I remember most of my earlier childhood by watching some old videos of me playing by the pool and dancing in the living room. It seemed like life could not get any better. However, I was excited and impatient to experience a new lifestyle. I realized that I could start a whole new life, make new friends and learn a new language. Belgium was not as sunny as South Florida but it has much better food and family oriented activities. Geographic mobility can have many positive effects on younger children, such as learning new languages, being more outgoing, and more family oriented; therefore, parents should not be afraid to move around and experience new cultures.
Learning a new language isn’t always easy. It has it’s up and down moments but once I learned that new language I felt accomplished and a lot of new opportunities open for me. My point is that learning English for me wasn’t easy, but once I learned English, I was able to help out my parents more and a bunch of new doors opened for me. You can say by knowing English I had a little more power now at home because they depended a lot on me now but it also felt great just to help them out with their English.
Suddenly I found myself in a land very different from the one I grew up in. Everything and everyone I once knew is nowhere to be found. I was faced with an unfamiliar world. New home, no friends, and soon enough a new daily routine that I'd eventually get used to. It was probably the hardest task I could have possibly made at that time.
Language has pioneered many interracial relationships and historical milestones. Language is a necessity for basic communication and cultural diversity. Being multilingual is a skill proven influential to a successful future. Due to rapid globalization, countries all over the world are stressing the importance of learning a second, or even third, language. With the exception of time and lack of resources, adults have very few widely applicable disadvantages to learning multiple languages. However, language learning as a child presents more complications. Some of those include not having enough funding at the elementary school level to introduce a program for secondary language, academic overload for the youth, stress for both the parent and student parties, and the mixing of languages. Not all of these complications are true in any or all situations, however, and the absence of them provides multitudes of opportunity for future career and academic success. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parents or the education legislation to decide whether they encourage the learning of a secondary language at the young age necessary for retention. “The general consensus is that it takes between five to seven years for an individual to achieve advanced fluency,” therefore the younger a child begins to learn, the more likely they are to benefit to the maximum potential (Robertson). Keeping the language learning in high school or beginning the process earlier is a greatly controversial discussion that is important to address because of the topic’s already lengthy suspension.