Personal Narrative: The Sierra Leone Civil War

War has always existed. Although the purpose of war varies, the outcome is the same; many lives are changed and ruined. War is often used to gain power, resources, and land, but it disregards the lives of those fighting the fight. Martin Luther King stated, “The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.” In three selections, “Medevac Missions,” “A Journey Taken with my Son,” and “At Lowe’s Home Improvement Center,” readers come to understand the truths of wars’ impact on the lives of those surrounding the soldier. Their friends change, their physical and psychological states change, but the hardest truth is adjusting to life back at home. Soldiers experience many life changes during active

When I was deliberating topics for my case study ethnography report I was inspired to examine some one very close to me who is "undocumented", someone whose experience I have seen first hand, some one who has affected my life and understanding of immigrants with his situation; my partner, Mario. This class has exposed us to many writings on the subjects of migration, immigration and emigration. I began to compare the concepts and information in the readings to Mario’s personal situation. I was curious if his answer would be "In search of a better life" when asked, "Why did you come here?"

On the first day of battle, many soldiers were sent in to the area between our land and our enemy’s land, what we call “no man’s land”. It was muddy and the tanks were unable to make it through, leaving our men vulnerable. So many men died that I began to lose hope that I could ever return back home alive.

The United States has experience a large wave of immigration of hopeful people to try and start a better life and live the American Dream. Coming from countries around the world, the United States is being shaped by the immigrants. Families that come to the United States come here to give their children a better education and for them to have a successful life than they ever had. Immigrant children have to live with the fear everyday of being deported and being separated from their parents. All these children want to do is have a better education and try to support their families. Little by little Obama is helping the immigrant children who actually want an education and deserve an opportunity to be successful in this country, by passing the dream act and making speeches about how important immigration is and how education for

What I am most proud of, is the fact that I am a hardworking immigrant. In today’s divided society, immigrants are stereotyped as “non-contributing to society” or “largely uneducated”. This ignorant stereotype is a constant reminder of how hard I should work.

“Mom, will I ever be treated as a regular person? When will I be like the others without people look at me in a strange way and make fun of me, when mom? When?” Those were the questions I did to my mom almost every day after getting home from school. Fourteen years ago that my parents brought me to this country offering a better life with better opportunities than where I was born. I was seven years old when came to the United States, but I still remember the happiness I felt when I first step in this country. Throughout the years, I have realize that not everything is easy and simple as I imagined. My parents worked in the fields because of the lack of a social security and not knowing how to speak English. Many Americans do not know how hard it is the life of an immigrant, they should have a consideration for us and not just blame us for the deviance of the United States.

Wars are a difficult place to be. “THE VIETNAM WAR transformed a generation” (Roberts 1). With all that happened during the war such as exposure to

I believe that the ability to understand the world around you can tremendously influence a person. I have had the honors to experience many situations that broadened my perspectives in life. When I immigrated to America in 2006, I had no clue how greatly my education will be affected. Because my parents did not know any English, I had to accomplish all the work by myself. I understood their struggles of trying to put dinner on the table so I tried not to complain. They had given up their old life in Vietnam to give me a better education and opportunities, I did not want their effort to go in vain. Through my whole academic career, I pushed myself to do everything to my fullest potential because I have been given the opportunity that many other

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” (-Mark Twain) Being a child of immigrant parents who move to American can be hard. There is a lingering feeling of not feeling like a child belongs. They are stuck in the invisible world between where their parents came from, in this specific case, Asia and where the child lives now. It can be difficult to be raised as an Asian American and learning both culture and traditions. Many Asian American kids end up deviating from the Asian culture and embracing the American culture. However, children of immigrants should embrace their own culture in order to keep traditions alive and be proud of who they are.

During the late nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century, many Chinese and Japanese people immigrated to the United States, specifically to the West Coast, under the belief that they would be not only be welcomed and accepted but that they would also be able to start fresh with their lives and become successful. However, once they arrived on the coast they experienced intense inhospitality, mistreatment, and great hardships. They felt that they were misled by the United States promoting friendship and welcoming arms and claiming that all American citizens and immigrants alike could achieve the great “American Dream” with a little work.

The term “war” is a scary word that brings terrible memories especially to the families that lost someone on WWII, and left many with mental and physical scars. Even though seventy-two years had pass, we can still see the impact that this war left not just in the United State but the rest of the world. This war is know as the “Good War” because despite all the destruction it caused it actually brought positive changes in America that still effect us today.

We were having a tough time during the war, because our father was out fighting. One day, we got a letter in the mail from the Western Union. It read: We regret to inform you STOP that Charles Mayfield, Sr. STOP has been killed. We all looked at each other in silence as our eyes started to get wet. The cons outnumbered the pros in the months directly after the war.

There are bombs exploding that sound like drums. Guns shots that sound like the ring of bell and the screams of the fallen soldier that sound like all hope is gone. Families are being separated and taken from one another, not knowing if they will ever see them again. They have to move to another country, and try to adapt to the new language, the new food, the new clothes, and the new people. While dealing with all that they have to try to be accepted by these new people who don’t understand them and their journey. This is what immigrants have to endure when war has struck their home. Immigrants face many challenges when they are adjusting to their new life style.

Now I am 49 and the war has been over for some time now and that is good and somehow bad for me. I have changed much ever since the war ended and so has the whole Platoon. It is crazy how much I have changed in the past 40 years first I was scared of the war, then I was a lieutenant in the war and now it’s hard for me to function without thinking about the war. Right after the war all of the squad member tried to see each other as much as we could. But now the few of us that are left can hardly ever see each other. Or don’t make the effort to. An example of what I miss from the war is the way we honored the dead. It was very unique we would make

There are many reasons why my family decided to leave their homes in Italy and make the move to America. There were many political and religious issues, along with towns and homes being overcrowded. My family were farmers looking for a change and the unification was rural along with the land management was poor. As my family did not have a lot of cash, we could only afford to buy tickets in the cargo area of the ship. The food was horrible as we were sailing to the new land. We ate a lot of potatoes, soup, and left overs. It was food to comfort us but not what I really wanted to eat.