My Experience as a War Child and Immigrating to America

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Bad things happen all the time; but how you choose to handle them is what matters most. I could choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss; or, I could choose to rise up from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself.” ( Walter Anderson.) My mother passed away right after I was born. Shortly after, my father left the country and traveled to the United States with the goal of finding a job that would lead to a better lifestyle for his family. On March 23, 1991, a civil war started which became known as, “The Sierra Leone Civil War.” This war took everything from me and turned my life upside down. It brought so many tragedies; it took my grandmother away from me, educational opportunities, and left me with a lifetime of physical and emotional scars. The war left me in a coma state of blood loss, and burned limbs. After the war ended, I was found and immediately rushed to the hospital where the hardship to a new beginning started. Doctors did not want to treat me; they thought I was beyond treatment and should be left to die peacefu...

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