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Coming to America “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. When I entered the airplane I was as excited as a 6-year-old could be about losing the people she loved the most. The greatest aspect of my fear was the idea of losing my mother. As a child, I always …show more content…
These people have talent beyond words-- literally and figuratively. They have the ability to express emotions in more than one way; the ability to comprehend conversation and contribute to an idea in different languages. How can you negate something that you do not have insight on and call it unintelligent because you do not have enough understanding to voice an efficient idea that contributes to society's understanding and growth? I grown to understand that ignorance is more acceptable in numbers. Fortunately, contrary to what we had originally thought we were one of the few lucky ones. Our family stayed together and as immigrants, we continue to struggle through the many negative stigmas. This is not the ending to our story but simply a story of new beginnings in a foreign country. As my parents say frequently “America is the land of opportunity” and this is an opportunity I will hold tightly and never let
America is a land filled with immigrants coming from different corners of the worlds, all in hopes of finding a better life in the country. However, No one had an easy transition from his or her home country to this foreign land. Not every race thrived the same way—some were luckier than others, while some have faced enormous obstacles in settling down and being part of the American society. Many people have suffered
After reading The Book of the Unknown Americans, I realized how difficult immigrating to the United States can be. I am an immigrant also, so just reading the story makes me relate to many problems immigrants experience relocating to a different country. Immigrants often face many issues and difficulties, but for some it is all worth it, but for others there comes a point in time where they have to go back to their hometown. Alma and Arturo Rivera came to the United States to better their life, but also so that Maribel could attend a special education school. While Arturo had a job things had gone well for the family, but once Arturo lost the job and passed away the two of them had to go back because they felt that that was the best option for them. Reading this book made me realize how strong an individual has to be to leave their own country and relocate somewhere else not knowing if this will better your life or cause one to suffer.
Affected by my family, my background, and everything around me, I was born in a family who is the first generation to get here. My grandmother, and my parents, along with some other relatives, moved here in search of better opportunities, like those from other countries for the same idea. They started out fresh but had a hard time to get started, when I was little, I assumed it had to be somewhat easy, but for people who do not know English it is like starting from scratch, but they did well, they’ve made it.
When I first came to this country, I wasn’t thinking about the language, how to learn it, use it, write, how I’m going to speak with people who are next to you and you want to talk to them. My first experience was in Veterans School, it was my first year in school here in United States, and I was in eight grades. The first day of school you were suppose to go with your parent, especially if you were new in the school, like me. What happened was that I didn’t bring my dad whit me, a woman was asking me a lot of questions and I was completely loss, I didn’t have any idea of what she was telling me and I was scare. One funny thing, I started cry because I fell like frustrate, I didn’t know no one from there. Someone seat next to me, and ask me in Spanish what was wrong and I just say in my mind thanks God for send me this person, then I answered her that I didn’t know Engl...
There is no clear definition of “becoming American”. Everyone has a different view of what American truly means. The term differs depending on what era in history it is. During the American Revolution, the United States was not a nation, therefore no one was truly American. While the Cherokee Nation fought for sovereignty, the definition of “becoming American” expanded. Both the American Revolution and the Red Clay simulations conveyed how race contributed to “becoming American”.
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.
There were many causes and effects for the Europeans to come to America. Some causes were the English Reformation, new materials, new routes to Asia, and to escape from England. The Effects were disease, religions dying off, lack of food, and health problems. The effects weren’t all bad, though. There were some good effects, like the introduction to horse riding, new tools, and new land.
My family is first generation immigrants from Iraq, life coming to America was very hard. When we first came we did not speak much english. The first thing that made it so hard for us was learning a new language then having to take our citizenship test not to long after. Some of the questions that I studied for I know many native born Americans who would know the answers. This country though gave me an oppurintity that I never had before. My dad was drafted into the gulf war and during that time Sadam Hussian would have anyone killed if they did not. So my family fled to Saudi Arabia after time in the refugee camp we came to America. I feel that my story of life is so different, but I know many of us (immigrants) can relate to parts of my experiences.
Have you ever thought about how much would change in your life if you had to move to a different country? Chris, from the video, experiences a completely different life style in India. However, the two sisters experience a different life style in America. Although there are many differences in American and Indian culture, there are some similarities.
No longer were they living in a cramped house with one room and dirt floors, but now had running water and modern appliances. I couldn’t imagine how a mother would feel trying to cook on a new foreign gas stove versus just using an open flame like back in her native land. Additionally, grocery shopping was new and foreign as was the American currency which made it extremely difficult to cook and provide food for the family. This was a completely new culture and way of life. Not speaking the native language in a country is always an issue because it makes it very difficult to interact with those around you and contribute to society. No employer wants to hire a person who can’t speak English, which made it extremely difficult to find a job even though many of them wanted to work. The families tried to take English as a second language classes, but the documentary stated it would be a few years until they were proficient enough to contribute to society. The difficulty to interact with others must have been frustrating, as it is a key part of fitting in the American culture. In America, they would have to find a new way of life, and get accustomed to Urban America. Each of these factors must have been on the minds of the family, and would have contributed to the sense of fear and wariness these people must have had in their new life in
Despite having financial struggles, they were able to have a celebration and part of this was due to help of family and friends. A year after their nuptial agreement my oldest brother was born. My mother struggled with getting pregnant for six years until my sister was born in 1986. The year my sister was born President Ronal Regan signed an immigration reform that changed the life of my parents and many others in the country who sought residency. From that moment on they no longer needed to hide because of their undocumented status. Two years after that my mother gave birth to me and four years after that she gave birth to my youngest brother. When I was two years old my father and his brother purchased their first home together. There I grew up with my siblings and four cousins. As I explained earlier, there was always a third family who had recently immigrated, for most of my childhood. I was always surrounded my many cousins, aunts, uncles, and family friends. My extended family was
If someone were to look through the Fitzsimmon’s scrapbook and see Annie’s written accounts, they would see a family who went through many hardships while immigrating to America. They would also see how important it was to have family to help them in a time of need.
Having had to move to America with little knowledge of the American language, and few credentials and connections, building a new life for our family in America has easily been on the most daunting hardships of my parents' lives. The obstacles they have overcome in their journey from Greece, and having to start from nothing, constantly serves as my motivation to strive for academic success in hopes that I can one day ease the burden on them. Unfortunately for me, this path will most likely involve attending a university, whose yearly overall cost rivals the annual income of my parents. This, along with the fact that my sister is currently enrolled in college, and will continue to be so for at least another year only makes our financial situation
I come from a country where freedom of speech and safety are not priorities, which ultimately pushed my family to move to the United States seeking a better future for my brother and me.
It felt no different to any other day. It was the day my family and I were moving to the United States of America. After countless weeks of packing, this day felt rather calm. This was going to be our second time moving to a different country. Our first time moving was from Ethiopia to Uganda, my father had found a job there, so we followed him. I remember how excited I was to be moving since I was dissatisfied with the school I was attending in Ethiopia. Once we moved to Uganda, life became brighter. I made friends within the first week of school and the environment we were living in was simply mesmerizing. Since our first time moving was so successful, I had very high hopes for our second one. How naïve I had been.