My Professional Life As An Immigrant

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.

Studying to be a physician requires lots of effort and time. To an immigrant like me, I tried to manage my studies, volunteer work, and adjusting to a new culture at the same time. I like to stick with my plans, and it has always been my plan to enter medical school on 2018. However, my road to entering medical school didn’t come as easy to me. After transferring to University, two of my close family passed away.

Hello reader, I’m about to tell you a story of some of my life. I am not normally one to volunteer details about myself, which I’ll remain somewhat reserved or completely leave some events out of this autobiography. Nonetheless, I believe I can still make my story interesting for the reader. I was born 1979, in Tampa, Florida; which, is also the same day my biological father decided to leave my mother and I. My mother isn’t a native Floridian, but had moved there with her family when she was still an infant, and had spent most of her life growing up in Florida. Needless to say, my father leaving was not an exciting time for my mother and I. Although she was employed Jimmy Cater was president and had taken the nation into

It was such a joy to be able to watch ‘An Immigrant Journey’. Everyone that was involved in the play in any way, did a fantastic job on creating the story and making the story much more believable for audience members. I thought the cast did a fantastic job of condensing down over 125 hours of research material, into a 50-minute show, which had to be incredibly challenging.

My parents immigrated to the United States at a very young age. Having no higher education than elementary school, the only jobs they could find were working in the orchards. They would pick and thin apples during the summers, and prune trees during the cold winters. As soon as I was of working age, I would go out into the fields with them from early sunrise until the intense heat scorched our necks and faces. At a young age, I learned the harsh reality of what the daily life of an immigrant is. The long hours of hard work in the unforgiving heat of the sun; all for the low wages they were paid. These experiences in the orchard instilled in me a sense of drive to further my education and work hard to help families that were at a disadvantage as

“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.

The first day in the United States is one of the best day and most thrilling days in my life. My father and my older sister move to Malaysia to get a job and support our family due to financial difficulty and lack of job opportunity in Burma. After a few years, my father and my sister were able to enter as immigrant and they were sent to the United States as immigrants through United Nation. After being apart with my father and my sister for more than a decade, my parents decide to move completely to America where more opportunities are available for a brighter future. My family faces many obstacles during the process of migrating to America. Despite all the struggle that are on our way, my family finally arrives in the United States and face major changes in life.

Humanity is ever so much more complicated than one could have ever imagined. Humans can thrive on change, but ultimately look for something to declare as home. In search of this home people travel long distances and risk everything they have. When an American contemplates the word immigrant, one imagines the countless people from Mexico crossing into our country or the refugees that hope to make this country their home. What eludes most of us, however, is the reality that most people were, at one point, immigrants to this country and that our forefathers came here exactly the same as refugees come today. What is brought to mind when I hear the word immigrant is hope and perseverance. I remember the countless people who have traveled here

It is not uncommon to hear one recount their latest family reunion or trip with their cousins, but being a first generation immigrant, I sacrificed the luxury of taking my relatives for granted for the security of building a life in America. My parents, my brother, and I are the only ones in my family who live in the United States, thus a trip to India to visit my extended family after 4 years was an exciting yet overwhelming experience. Throughout the trip, I felt like a stranger in the country where I was born as so many things were unfamiliar, but there were a few places that reminded me of my childhood.

Day in and day out many immigrants enter the United States of America in search of greener pastures. This greener pasture includes higher educational prospects and lucrative jobs. However, life usually does not turn out as many of them usually anticipate. The expectation they usually have prior to their entry to the United States is partly due to the all rosary and nice things they hear about America. They hear such nice things from the media and also from diaspora’s who return from America to their homeland who usually don’t share their entire experiences with them. There have been quite a number of reports and research findings that outline the various challenges that are faced by immigrants in America. I personally share some of these issues as an international student in a foreign country. Prior to coming to Metropolitan State University, I had colleagues who told me about the school and their excellent environments that facilitate learning. Also other friends who were in America made me aware of the opportunity to work alongside schooling which made me more interested as I needed financial aid. With all these palatable information in mind, I did apply for the school and even though the tuition fee was quite expensive considering my socio economic background, I did apply having the mindset of working to meet up certain financial needs. Upon arrival in America, I realized that I was given a fraction of the entire picture. I wasn't allowed to work outside of campus,

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.

When I was young my grandmother taught me to always help others. Even those who may be mean or undeserving of it. There were many stereotypes and jokes made about me but she still wanted us to always help others. I learned to go with the flow and let it go. This lesson and the value in helping others helped me especially in high school. During my junior year in high school I began to take an interest in a program call Opportunities in Emergency Care. That year I was certified as a first aid provider and in CPR. As a senior I continued my education in this field. I am now a certified Emergency Medical Responder and I will be a certified Emergency Medical Technician. I have had many occasions to apply the knowledge and skills I gained, by working

Growing up as an immigrant I view the world in a much more different light than most people do. Whenever an opportunity presents itself to me I am willing to put in the effort if I know it will better my life. This trait of resourcefulness originates from my family who, over the years have created a life for themselves out of virtually nothing. I moved to America at the young age of two years old with my father. Though he didn’t have much to begin with, my father decided to move to this country in hopes to lead a better life and follow on the path of the American dream. I vividly recall being in the backseat of our car while my father trained me on the importance of remaining perceptive and hardworking in school and abroad, I remember he would

Writing about the background, mine might be similar to many other people who immigrated to the United States as refugees, but what makes everybody’s life unique, is their thoughts, beliefs and plans who makes their life and future.

As an immigrant myself, I know the struggles, hardship, and the difficulties that come with being accepted to the United States, as well as the struggles with becoming a citizen. The many barriers and the conflict that my family and I had to endure were very exhausting. For example, the many denials, then anticipation but finding out we weren’t accepted. Dealing with the rejection was especially hard for us. However, that didn't stop us; we knew that there will always be a chance as long as we kept on trying. The wait was well worth it because I can honestly say that my life has changed for the better. Even though I was too young back then to really understand the situation, I could still realize that there was something wrong every time I