Personal Narrative: My Life In Iraq

I was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1998 five years prior to the Iraq war. When I was younger my life was very unstable my family and I had to move from one country to another. By the time I was seven we had moved in and out of four different counties. During the war we only went back to Iraq once, but we realized it was a huge mistake. When we finally settled in Jordan in 2005 we didn’t have much because my father was the only one working. My father would commute to work in Libya while my mother took care of me and my older sibling he would come home for vacation two months at a time. Then around September of 2006 my father and mother separated, and my little brother was born a few months after.
The increasing number of Iraqi refugees in Jordan

caused the international organization for migration (IOM) to open the applications for refugees to come to America the process of applying wasn’t easy even for a single mother of three boys. My mother’s dream was coming to America because she would have a better chance of making a living here than in Jordan because most jobs did not hire Iraqi workers. One of the hardest things I had to do was saying good-bye to my father because at the time my father had just recovered from surgery and was fired from his job. I remember my father telling me to take good care of my brothers and my mother and he told me to be happy because now I will have a chance to make something of myself. I always had his words in the back of my mind as we left because being able to recover from bad situations quickly, and to see the world from a broader perspective is a skill that most people don’t have. Coming to America was nothing compared to any other country I had been to, it was full of energy and was very welcoming. We arrived in Houston September 9th 2008 we were greeted by people who sponsored us as a part of a church project to help refugee families in Houston. Just after two days of being in Houston we were told that hurricane IKE is coming. The day before we had to stock up on food, cover the windows and buy flashlights I could not sleep all night, but I always stayed optimistic.
When I started school here in the fifth grade it was very exciting, but frightening the school was very different from previous schools that I had attended. In the beginning the idea of learning a new language was very difficult. In Jordan students take English courses, but thee teachers were very limited in what they are able to teach because of their education. As I progresses through middle school I became more aware of how American culture works and how to adapt. In my experience being able to become part of a whole new culture and life style was unfathomable, but through all the obstacles that I have faced in my life I have become more open-minded and now I have a broader perspective on life.
Through all of the obstacles that I have faced in my life coming to America was the most difficult, but I it was also the most knowledgeable experience in my life. I proud to say today that I am an American, and just like anyone who comes to America looking for a chance I have hope. The obstacles that I had to go through to get here are well worth it.