My Life - Original Writing

In 2004, my family emigrated to America from Pakistan. Our lives in Pakistan were better than most. We lived in a huge condo and my father owned a plant nursery which earned him enough money to support us. However, my parents wanted their kids to have a better future and become something great one day. This wasn’t really possible in Pakistan; the education system wasn’t great and it wasn’t safe either. Because of this, we emigrated to America so my siblings and I could achieve the American dream through proper education. Little did I know that my life would drastically change.

Raised in a lovable small town with generous people, I couldn’t even dream of living elsewhere. However, with my grandparents in America, fighting for us to come to their foreign side, I knew we would eventually move. Soon, my parents started preparing for the nightmare. My curiosity started building up but I would retain myself from throwing questions to my occupied parents. Paperwork, passports and the long-difficult process of immigration was the only talk in the house. To save myself and my brother from the boredom and allow my parents to work efficiently, I started to parent him. Some days I would walk into my parents room to ask to go out and consequently retreat back after just a glance of their tired faces. Pushing away my desires, I decided to assist them as much as I could like an sensible adult. .

When I was eight-years-old I despised change, no matter what it was or how “good” the transition would be. Some would even comment that when it came to change, I was a prude child. However, the day that changed my life was when my parents said in the most optimistic tone that.“We are moving to the United States!” These words were my greatest undoing and the thought of leaving never crossed my mind ever. I remember being speechless and wanting to cry, but could not bring myself to. I wanted to stay in Tokyo, Japan, in the dark-wooden, two story house with tatami floors, and the sliding doors that were connected to each room, because it held the most precious memories of hide-and-go-seek to playing sumo matches against my cousins. However, my older sister bawled and begged my parents. To let us stay in Japan and that they could go. But my parents wanted all of us to stick together because family sticks together no matter what for the good in the worst of times. I remember trying to stay strong, just like Anpanman even though deep down I wanted to throw a fit because I hated change.

My heart is pounding in my chest as I step onto the dusty gym floor. My palms are damp with perspiration. I slowly look around the room. Girls wearing headbands, shorts, and t-shirts fill the gym. Some girls wear the same nervous expression I do, and some have a look of confidence on their face. The sound of girls handling basketballs fills the gym. I walk over to the rack hesitantly and slowly reach out and grasp a basketball. The bumpy texture of the ball in my hand is familiar, and provides a sense of comfort. I look over at my sister and we head over to an empty basketball hoop. We start to shoot around, preparing for the tryouts that are moments away from starting.

“So, it 's suppose to be sunny with few clouds, and about 75 degrees a beautiful day out today.” The weatherman on T.V.said as he flashed a fake smile on his face. I clicked the power button, and threw down the remote on the couch. And ran outside clutching the money my dad gave me for ice cream, tight in my hand. I saw the group sitting outside getting ready to go.I could see myself sitting in the back on the porch, eating the delicious flurry that I was soon to order.

I stepped into my host on a Thursday, slipped into the cracks of her insecurities and nested in the place where her pride once was. I flipped and destroyed her home, smashed the windows that looked out onto her beautiful garden and barricaded the doors. I wasn 't being evicted, not this time.

I’ve spent my whole life trying to get back to one moment, one image: me, no older than seven, running to the park on a brisk summer day, with my mom behind me, and the grass as green as can be. It was the earliest I had ever gotten up, which combined with the gray - instead of the light blue sky - made me feel like I was in a new realm. The sun was glimmering, with speckles of it coming shooting right through the neighbor’s roof. For the first time, I found the sun tolerable that day. Up until then, the sun was a mere annoyance, to my young, sensitive eyes. I was much more a fan of the dark, the spark neon lights on a rainy evening gave off were always my favorite sight. But nothing could compare to the sun that day, the innocence of it all, for one, I enjoyed the light.

As a child, I always used to think that my parents were indestructible. In my eyes, there was absolutely nothing that could hurt them. Obviously, there is no logic behind this preposterous belief, yet I still felt that way for almost a decade of my life. Unfortunately, my idealistic views came to an end when I was nine years old. My father, who was always some sort of superhero in my life, was diagnosed with end stage renal failure in the summer of 2006. All of a sudden, my super hero didn’t seem so indestructible anymore.

“Jr, come on. Your father’s going to be home any minute now!” My mother squealed

It was a normal day in Paoli, me and my mom were walking to EL Compadres from the library. My brother was currently going to his band competition, and my sister was out horseback riding with her friends. As we walked by the new deck a small chubby kid with a face full of ugly smudged freckles waddled out of El Compadres and stabbed me with a vial of green liquid. He yelled “ Get out of my way!” and smacked me in the face. My mom grabbed his arm and swung him onto the ground. He cursed at us got up and ran off.

It felt like one of those horror films, when you 're all alone and you feel like a killer is gonna pop out of nowhere. Then, you see them, those people, the ones that make you feel nervous, but can change your life. The steps get closer and closer and you don’t want to do anything but run-run far away! Run away from everything in the way. You feel like your body is sinking in quicksand, and it’s too late. They are here, and life will never be the same.

"Mommy! Look!" I cried as I held a snowflake in my hand, as if I was holding a newborn baby.

never came to terms where we’d like to live in. We’ve lived from the smallest of towns to big city places and all around Texas but I’ve never complained because i love to move around and meet new souls as my dad said. Originally living in Houston, i got used to the city never sleeping but once the moving began i changed my mind quickly. From all the places i’ve had the pleasure of living in, there is one thing i have learned from my travels as we’ve finally stopped in a city like town, nothing beats living in the country.

I took my nails and dug into my head. I scratched and scratched and hot tears rolled down my face. It was as if there were a thousand needles being pierced into my skull. My room was dark aside from the TV playing in the background. I couldn’t focus and I started to get dizzy. Was I really going to die? Would I not wake up the next morning? Was this really what I wanted?

- You sure you will be ok on your own? 3 years is a long time, if there is anything you need, don`t be afraid to call, got it?