Personal Narrative: My Experience As An Immigrant

At a young age I have faced many strenuous challenges that molded me into the person I am today. When moving to America with my mother, she left her family behind her in order for me to gain a better life that I would not be able to have in Vietnam. Coming to America as immigrants, with no knowledge of the culture or language, was a complete culture shock for us. It was inevitable that my mother and I would run into problems as we try to assimilate.
America was like a dream. It is a country where there are endless opportunities to make something out of yourself. However, despite that I was living in America I felt un-foreign and un-American. My first affliction was the language. Undoubtedly, my communication skills were nonexistent. As

an immigrant kid, I experienced my first nightmare on the first day of elementary school; I felt like an ugly duckling that was astray. Being the new Asian girl at school everyone coddled around me to ask me a bunch of questions about where I came from but my brain felt fried. The only English words I could diligently mutter in response were “yes” and “no”. Every day was dreadful it was as if I was repeatedly getting sucked into a dark abyss of torture.
Although I faced a language barrier, I did not realize my mother was immensely struggling as well.

My mother would occasionally take me to work with her at the nail salon while sitting at her station I would notice how rudely customers would treat her due to her lack of English. At that point, I realized that my mother did not sacrifice everything to be ridiculed all because she could not speak English. A sense of determination washed over me. With the aid of my ESL class, in addition, to listening to other people’s discourse of the language, I gradually became fluent in the glorious English language. While learning English, it sent me on an unforgettable journey each step I took felt like I was paving my own pathway to success. After years of feeling un-American, I was committed to teaching and changing myself with knowledge, soon enough, learning the English language allowed me to adapt to my environment. Growing up as an immigrant kid, I lusted for eloquence and fluency after discovering the significance and strength of communication.
Through this ordeal, the barrier hindered to everything I wanted to achieve. I wanted to make friends, gain a deeper insight on life, but most of all I wanted to be somebody. Granted the language barrier made the goals I had a harder reach, however, in the end my whole character profoundly grew after breaking down the barrier. I changed from being invisible in a corner to a member of the National Honor Society. I changed from being anti-social

to becoming the Treasurer of Interact Club. The most important change of all was that I wanted to change because I wanted to inspire others.