Personal Narrative: My Journey To America

2014

Title
​New people, new environments, a new life was all approaching sooner than ever. Accustomed to a traditional lifestyle for over thirteen years in India, I was about to undertake the most life changing experience; moving. Excitement was at a peak level, until there came to be only a couple days remaining for the last few moments left to spend in my homeland. I was embarking on a new journey to America. Nervous, yet more ready than ever to commence all the new opportunities I was soon to be granted with.
​When living in one location for a significant amount of time, it is without a doubt, a difficult task to migrate. Similar faces and buildings construct a feeling of comfort-a sense of community. Growing up, having familiarity

with every individual and their personality, surrounding me, was in the norm. Obviously this wasn’t going to be the leading case in my situation. Instead, opposing matters occurred to me. Understanding the challenges of not being able to rely on just any stranger, tend to build resistance and kept me from proceeding a step forward in the process of the move. I knew that walking freely around the streets and unexpectedly greeting a neighbor would not continue as a routine. Turning around, coincidentally encountering a childhood friend was obviously not going to remain a possibility. Having that sense of security was disappearing in the picture.
​Education, being the incentive for the migration, was an essential factor of life to my family and I.

My parents’ first priority was enrolling me into the greatest and foremost high-class school for my further studies to be continued. Moving to America, indeed creating a far more successful future for me, several fears stayed crossing my mind day and night as I thought about my classmates, and how accepting each one would be regarding the “new girl” and her differences. Never ending questions in my mind led me to over think about how well things would go on the first day, carrying on the first year of school. “What will the academic level be like? Will people value my presence or will I be another invisible soul, wandering the halls, catching no attention

whatsoever?”
​The first day came and I survived.

I received my class schedule, was given a countless amount of forms to fill out before continuing on the year, finalizing with a tour. Teachers were pleasant enough to introduce me to the class, however I kept my verbalizing to a limit. Speaking skills were a major insecurity of mine, especially living in a modernistic country like the U.S. In spite of knowing the English language fluently, I still felt inferior to others when it came down to communication skills. Terrified of being bullied due to my “fresh off the boat” accent, it led to the outcome of lunch in the bathroom, occasionally the library. Keeping a distance from the cafeteria where all the extroverts typically intimidated the introverts-was a more knowledgeable decision for an individual like me. Time elapsed, till I was struck by my loneliness.
​As the second semester approached, I spent a little more of my focus on shaping confidence. Little or more conversations with schoolmates were becoming a daily habit. I began to enjoy my days more effectively. My family played a key role in the matter of boosting self-esteem. Deep talks at dinner exuded encouragement. Often my parents were assistance in bringing out the more outgoing side of me, which notably eliminated the shy and reserved nature of mine. Friendships were beginning to structure and I gained comfort in this brand new place, which surprisingly, I started to refer to as

home.
​The sudden shift in life settings seemed to be unattainable at first, until I came to an important realization: adaptation does not require traditional values and customs to be thrown away. Instead, I practiced the same morals here in my new habitat, just as if I was back in India. This experience unequivocally educated me about the new aspects of the world. My mind was expanded and able to let in various skills of maturity. I learned to cope with my problems in a more cultivated way.
​Change can surely be alarming, however, change can also be a good thing. I’ve gained a unique insight on life by being open to new risks. Without this drastic movement, I wouldn’t have been able to take a stand and confidently say that change shouldn’t be neglected, but rather an embracement.