High School Graduation Pathway

There is an ancient African adage that states “If you wish to move mountains tomorrow, you must start by lifting stones today”. As a first generation immigrant to the United States and reminiscent of countless other immigrants who have come before me, moving to a new country literally means starting your life all over again from scratch, but symbolically it signifies a rebirth of oneself and a chance to metamorphose into whatever new creature you aspire to be. Some of the challenges I faced included culture shock, language barriers, financial barriers, but the utmost significant one was the education barrier. I quickly realized that if I could bridge the education gap I would be able to overcome all the other barriers. For myself, having an education epitomized my assimilation into my new life by enabling me to chase my dreams and realize my unique American dream.

The twelve years you spend of your life going to school, is about learning new things and preparing yourself for the real world. Towards the last four years of school, you start thinking about what you want to do after high school, you start taking classes that’s required for what you want to go into, looking at colleges where you can get your degree. College isn’t for everyone right after their done with High School. Other people don’t need college for what they’re going to do, they can just start there job right away. Some people that have no idea what they want to do might consider going into the military, then find something in any of the fields.

All throughout school, students are ask what we want to be when we grow up. Many of us know or have a pretty good idea, but others have no clue what they want to pursue as a career in life, whether it be furthering their education at a university or attending a technical school. There are other students that plan to start work right out of high school. Either way we all have a plan, and the purpose of this paper is to inform you of mine. I personally struggle in making big decisions like deciding what to do with my life, but then I realized I have been asking myself the wrong questions. Instead of asking what I want to be when I grow up, I asked myself what do I want out of life? what are some of my goals that I wish to achieve? This led

I was 14-year-old when I left my country to move to America in March 2012. When I heard I was moving to the United States, I was so delighted words cannot even describe how excited I was that day. I remember the night before my trip I could not sleep. I was excited because my whole family was going to be with me. My dad migrated to Florida four years before we came, therefore, I could not wait to see him again.

Coming back to the U.S. for the second time in my life after nine years was perhaps one of the most challenging obstacles I have ever had to face. Not only did I have to accustom myself to the language but also to a newer, differentiated culture. Also, with that came some bullying and taunting that did not pull me down but instead opened my eyes to see what a strong and enduring person I could be. With help from my teachers and my supporting family as they helped buffer my experience and transition to a different world, I was able to overcome the typical immigrant challenge that thousands have to face.

There is an old African adage that states “If you wish to move mountains tomorrow, you must start by lifting stones today”. I am a first generation immigrant to the United States and like many other immigrants who have come before me, moving to a new country literally means starting your life all over again from scratch but symbolically it signifies a rebirth of oneself and a chance to metamorphose into whatever new creature you aspire to be. Some of the challenges I faced included culture shock, language barriers, financial barriers but the most significant one was the education barrier. I quickly realized that if I could bridge the education gap I would be able to overcome all the other barriers. For me having an education epitomized my assimilation into my new life by enabling me to chase my dreams and realize my unique American dream.

I was born in Merida, Mexico. That special day my father was in prison, he would leave our family by my fourth birthday. It would take me eight years to reunite with him in America. With two sisters and a single mother, I became the man of the house at a young age. Neither of my parents finished a high school education. I held my first job at age seven cleaning windshields at stoplights for any available change, in an effort to alleviate my mother’s burdens. My life experiences have taught me resiliency, hard work, and determination.

Growing up from a Caribbean background, moving to America and getting a better life has always been a strong influence for me, it has taught me that there are a lot of opportunities here, in America, that I should appreciate and that I should try and tackle headfirst. From seeing my parents stress the importance of knowledge and education, to seeing some of my family members waste their time and not become anything of their selves, I have a special look at both sides of how coming to America, the land of opportunity, can make or break you. This influences me to strive and take any opportunity that can help me become a more knowledgeable and woke individual and use it to my advantage.

In the summer of 2013, my mother told me that I would be moving to the United States, for reasons that she didn’t disclose to me. In the Dominican Republic, children are raised to never question the decisions of their elders, so I did as I was told. Later, I understood that my parents knew that it didn’t matter how hard I worked in school, we would never have enough connections or money to find me a good job or for me to assist to a good university in my country.

Coming to a new country is hard, especally when you don’t know the language- up until I started school, it hadn’t been a problem for me. With the help of my parents, I was abe to overcome the challenge and become a great student. When I was in 4th grade, I was blessed with the opportunity to go to a better school where I’d recieve better education for

My mother immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic at the age of 16, all by herself! I can barely imagine being in college next year, nonetheless, moving to a new country and beginning a new life. As my older brother by 6 years and I would walk past those expensive Jordans in the mall, or stroll by the shiny Mercedes Benz parked on the corner of the street, my mother would promise that good grades and an education could one day afford us these extra facets to life. So believe me, before baseball practice, homework would be done, done

Born in the Dominican Republic, at the age of 10, my family and I migrated to this country to fulfill the American dream. As a girl from a small Spanish speaking island, I had to maneuver through the public school system in order to achieve the goals that I once never thought I would conquer. With language being the ultimate challenge, I fundamentally had to learn the English language on my own. Yet through the frustration of inequalities and lack of resources presented to children in inner-city communities, ambition grew inside me. My mother would say to me “Everyone deserves to have a fair share of what they loved to do.” However, at the same time, I was also taught that nothing is easily handed to you, and that “if you want it, then you have to work for it.” I live by the words of my mother, and when I receive the opportunity to continue my education at

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

As a high school student, I knew I wanted to make my own mark someday. I wanted to better myself and take a different path than most of my friends. It is common in Mexico for those attending college to live at home. In the case of my graduating class, I was the only one out of 70 students to pursue my college degree in the United States. Transitioning from a Mexican education to an American one was not an easy task, but as my English improved I pushed myself academically to

My experience of moving to the USA included a couple of steps such as preparing, arriving, and adopting. Moving to America was one of the most thrilling and exciting experiences I have ever had in my life. It all started after I graduated from high school. I had always dreamed of going to abroad to study in a better school to be successful in life. My dad was leaving me hints here and there that he was going to send me America for school, but I was sure that it wasn’t going to happen because getting a student visa was tough back then. However, that summer when I saw that letter in my mail from the immigration department of USA for an interview, I was speechless.