Memoir: A Personal Story Of An Immigrant

Welcome. A single word on the carpet by the door greets me whenever I come home. There had been times where that one word made my heart beat and cry with joy. But not now, for many things changed through the years. Now when I look at this carpet, I instead question back: ‘Do you really mean that?’

Throughout life I have experienced numerous events that have shaped me into becoming the person I am to this day. Out of all these events, my adoption has been the most significant and life changing event of my life. Two weeks before my first birthday in, I was adopted from Nanchang, China. As I grew up, my parents never once tried to conceal my adoption. Without them, I believe I would have grown to be a totally different person. Although I was adopted and brought in by my adoptive parents, I see myself in the everyday. I see them as nothing less than my real parents and I aspire to be as generous and compassionate as they are. Without them, I would have never been able to experience half of the life changing events I have gone through. As

With the settlement of first immagrants to America, this has been the phrase in which they preach. I seemed to those from an outside perspective of America, that this was the place to be. This was no exception for my grandfather. His valuable lessons of dedication, persistence and passion have shaped me into the person that I have become.

One person can have the power to change a community’s perspective or sharpen it. As a Latina and an immigrant, my family’s experience has taught me about the process of entering the United States and the complications that follow. Still, my comprehension of social issues developed further the day I met my brother’s friend and classmate, who followed my brother home, unannounced, on the bus. I will call him Eric, my brother’s friend and his family are Salvadorian undocumented immigrants who seek political asylum. Eric’s family consists of a younger and an older sibling, and his mother. The only source of income is what his mother, who does not speak English very well, makes. Lately, this is what keeps me up at night. Thoughts of this child and his family consume my mind while I brainstorm ways of helping. At a young age when their biggest concerns

My dad teaching me how to drive is a dream. Seeing him come home every night from work is a dream. His attendance at my graduation later this year is a dream.

In 1992, a woman gave birth to my sister and I. Due to unknown reasons, at some point during the first year, she left her twins at the doorsteps of a local police station. My sister and I were eventually placed in an orphanage in Addis Ababa, where we would then go on to be adopted and brought to the US. We grew up in a loving home with loving parents, and all of our needs met. Our childhood was ideal in many ways and I grew feeling up very blessed. Our adopted mother loved us so deeply, and our father was always a provider, stable, loving father.

I was born in Irapuato Guanajuato Mexico on August 1. I lived in Mexico until I was four years old. At the age of five I received my residency and came to live in America. When I got here I lived in Atlanta Georgia and started school at Kanoheda Elementary School. I attended Kanoheda from kindergarten to second grade. While I was at Kanoheda I had an ESOL class where they taught me the English language and helped me with grammar skills. After second grade I never attended another ESOL class and was able to become fluent in English. When I was going to start third grade I moved to Summerville South Carolina. I was at Oakbrook Elementary for one year and then transferred to Knigtsville in the fourth grade. After I finished fifth grade I went

I was totally stunned to be called that way just because I did not feel thankful to someone I believed to be a faker. That person was a man who pretended to talk to God using non-human language and offered help to people with the exchange of money, similar to a televangelist in the western culture. The result sometimes coincidentally turned out to be as expected, but if not, he would find the way around it using several unreasonable excuses. However, the worst part about this story was that my grandmother still faithfully believed in him and wanted me to thank him for all of my accomplishments, which I refuted.

Adoption is a process that can last a lifetime. Traveling through emotions of insecurity, feeling pressured to be a “perfect child” for a new family, and not knowing if you’ll be able to stay with the limited family you do have: siblings. Growing up trying to follow the path of what Americans call an “American dream” was ruined from age one. Since then, I have been in many different homes. At age two, I was finally adopted by the people I now get to call my mom and dad. My life has been a roller coaster that I was hopeful would soon one day come to a stop. I always predicted that I would once find out who my real parents are. Being adopted is like having white clouds in the sky as it pours down rain. It is like a train that is unstoppable.

It was morning again and I was anxious waiting for the pound to open. That means I have another chance of being adopted. The man opened the door while talking to a young family of three that needed a fourth member. They had a little girl. She had long blonde hair, just like mine. The man shows them around, and then the little girl comes towards me. Her hazel eyes staring into mine like if she was looking straight into my soul. She whispered “ You are mine.” I tilt my head in confusion asking myself “ Did she just say that I belonged to her? Is this all a dream?”

It was called “Pomoshch Dom,” or “helping home.” It was large and wasn’t cramped with other orphans like us, only a few. I figured we would be sent to a horrid orphanage or something of the sorts. But this home was quite nice. We adjusted well and made good friends with the others staying there. Weeks later I was still shocked we were sent to such a nice place. When I expressed this to a girl I had met there, she explained to me that my parents must have written in their wills that if anything was to happen to their children, they would be sent here and their stay was to be paid by their life insurance. I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of that before but it made much sense. Only a few days after I was told that, We were informed that Borys would be leaving. A family from Australia was going to adopt him. The other children seemed pleased and happy for him, but I was angry and worried and sad and anxious. My little brother, My Borys was leaving. He had lost his father and his mother how could they take him away from his sister and brother too? We were given days to say our goodbyes but it wasn’t enough. As he left I hugged him tight and reassured him over and over that everything was going to be alright. I told him he would love his new family and sometime soon we would visit him. After Borys left, me & Roman were expecting to get adopted. We both got adopted into nice families. I lived in New York & him in Ireland. Eventually we found

The infants were six months old at them time and the couples wondered if they were sisters. They asked the people at the orphanage to see if they were and they said they were not even related even though they were listed as having the same birthday. The couples feared that if they did not continue with them adoption that the girls would get separated far away from each other. So the couples took the girls back to Canada with them. They wanted to do what was the best for the babies, even if it they had to raise the twins apart from each other. The family’s now are trying to get together as much as possible, so that their kids can bond with each other. One of the twins after she got a little older said I don’t hate it. I don’t love it. Both of the girls took their first steps on the same. They both

They had been previously unable to have children, there for they were considering adoption. Kathy had previously gone to assist a best friend in a Chinese adoption and fell in love with China. This made it very easy for Kathy and Dennis to consider adopting a children from China themselves. The Chinese Adoption process was long and tedious. My parents said that if every parent had to go through the process that they had to go through to have a children, many would not have children. The Chinese Adoption Bureau tries to interpret the reported personality traits of the parents and the Chinese children to product a good match. I was paired with Dennis and Kathy Christoff. My parents say that when I was placed in their arms they were overcome with

Ten years ago, I was only about 3 to 4 years old, and my parents had placed me in a daycare. It was right across the street from our school, and I went every single day, even on the weekends --- unless it was a holiday break or special occasion, of course. One bright, perfect day, when my mom picked me up to bring me back to our house just outside of Frankton, she told me that my dad and her had a surprise waiting for me when we reached home. After the 5-10 minute drive, we arrived at our house. We went inside and my dad was packing a bag like he was going to go somewhere to stay the night. I remember immediately being very thrilled because I thought we were going to go on a family vacation, and I ran to go pack a bag. My mom stopped me and told me what all I needed to pack: a change of clothes, pajamas, hairbrush, toothbrush/toothpaste, etc. She also told me to pack a book or game to play on the way there. I went into my room and packed, thinking about where we were going for vacation. When I was done, we got in my mom’s old white SUV and started driving away.

Adopting a child, especially internationally, can be quite challenging, but it can also be one of the most rewarding experiences that a family can go through. Families who adopt cross-culturally inevitably face a few barriers when it comes to acclimating a new family member into their lifestyle, but, I happen to know plenty of parents who have taken the plunge, and I have seen the incredible joy that has sprung from it. I decided to interview a family who has adopted because I believe that it is one of the most “diverse” experiences a family can go through. I have plenty of friends that have adopted siblings, and, personally, I would love to adopt a child one day.