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9/11: A Short Story

Decent Essays

Victor Solorio

“Mi hijo, levantate. Ya nos vamos,” my mother whispered. “Wake up, my son. We’re leaving.” I woke up confused with my eyes still half closed. It was 3 hours past midnight on a morning during the Spring of 2002. “Why is there packed luggage? Where were we going? Are we going on vacation?” I thought. My mother must have seen my confusion, as we boarded the bus and said “Los Estados Unidos.” “The United States.” At only 5 years of age, the only thing I knew about Los Estados Unidos was the tragic events of 9/11 that unfolded 6 months prior to that night. The last thing I remember about that morning was watching my small, emerald-colored house disappear into the distance as our bus drove away.

Our first year in the United States was one of the most difficult and challenging years of my entire life. I remember watching my mother cry every single day in the closet of that small one-bedroom apartment. Cried, because she missed home. Cried, because everywhere we went, she would feel the intense racist stares and mugs of people towards the new "immigrant family" in the neighborhood. Cried, because our way of life in Mexico was worthless here. My father struggled to find a job as his electrician certificate in Mexico was nothing more than a piece of …show more content…

My family’s euphoria refueled our motivation to chase the American Dream. I finally started kindergarten after 5 months in the United States. I had already finished kindergarten in Mexico, but due to my birthday being after August and because I was yet to learn to write and speak English, I was forced to repeat kindergarten. I was learning to speak English at a surprising rate. Everything was going more smoothly for the family. Although not as an electrician, my father found a job and I helped him with some of the English I knew to fill out applications and communicate with people. I finally started to feel that life in the U.S might be worth

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