I never in my life did expect one day to write an essay for the Spanish Travel Scholarship and to write it in English! Fifteen year ago I was a typical Italian architecture student who, beyond doubt, had not yet established her role in the local, national, and global community, or her purpose in life. I spent my college years making my parents proud, and fulfilling teachers’ expectations. Nevertheless architecture wasn’t my college decision. It was my dad’s dream. When I was six years of age, he lost his engineering firm because of a stroke. He reinvented himself various times, after the stroke, but he has never been able to rebuild his engineering firm from the ashes. My architecture degree was his last opportunity to reopen his beloved …show more content…
I had the amazing privilege to serve as an informal ambassador for my country of birth (Italy), clearing up cultural stereotypes, and creating positive connections between two cultures. I had the joy of meeting people from other cultures. Sharing problems, connecting with cultural differences and similarities gave me the opportunity to learn not only about other cultures but also about local and global issues. The desire to understand these issues, and to solve them (like for example immigration issues with Mexican-born people living in the United States) inspired me to apply for the study abroad program-language immersion in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
I chose this program because I believe that knowing Spanish will enable me to become a better person, a better global citizen, and a better teacher. In the past, I had the privilege of working, in my community, with ESL students whose families were unfamiliar with the American school system and recently with the daughter of one of my friends from Mexico. My friend, even after 20 years in the U.S., barely speaks English and because of that she can only work as a housekeeper. Her daughter is sixteen years of age, she never finished secondary school in Mexico and she does not speak English. Her mom decided to find her a job in the housekeeping industry and to not send her to school
My house is crowded with my relatives and friends; my friends and family are here me to wish me good luck and safe journey. My heart is full of mixed emotions. I am scared and sad but excited and happy at the same time as it is my last day at my house and in my country. Tonight is my flight to America. I’m moving to America, to be with my husband and to start a new journey of my life. I remember everything from my last day in Pakistan. I have never been way from my house before. I have always been surrounded by my friends and cousins. My friends have always been with me in my good and bad times and I cannot imagine a day without them. I never thought of leaving them. I didn’t realize how my life would change because of a ‘yes’. My childhood friend Sadiq, who moved to America ten years ago, asked me to marry him. Everyone in my family liked him so without thinking of anything else I said yes to him and we got married in a year, when he visited Pakistan. We were really excited to spend our lives together. What I didn’t realize until the moment I was at the airport that I am going to a new country, where I don’t know anyone other than my husband. I’m leaving all my family and friends here in Pakistan. I didn’t know how to react anymore now, I was sad and crying as I entered airport but I also felt happy inside my heart. When I was at the airport with my family, my grandma kept saying to me, “you have to call us at least three times a day when you get there.” My mom said, “Take
I had always dreamed to study in the United States of America since it is an extreme case to a lot of people around the world to have a chance to earn education the USA. I am fortunate to have this chance and I value that extremely. I had many challenges and barriers when I decided to come here to the States but I was very focused to earn a degree from here and I over came them in order to make my dream comes true. When I came here moving with my family to attend college that was the hardest part of moving away from my parents and other members of the family and friends. Back home, I was always known as a very social active person among women groups. I used to participate a lot in women clubs and activities due to women segregation in the society
Those who know me personally, know that I wouldn’t be where I am right now without my parents. In order to give me the best opportunities, both my parents, born and raised in Vietnam, made many sacrifices, one of which included moving to the states. Larissa Martinez, McKinney Boyd High School’s 2016 Valedictorian, words, “while parents metaphorically move mountains for their children, you (her mom) literally moved countries for my sister and me,” have left a mark on me and although my story may not be to her extent, I can certainly say that my parents did the same.
The day was finally here. It was November 11, 1990, the day that our family was to go to ¡®Land Of Liberty.¡¯ I heard so many different things about this country called United States of America and I was warned that it would be nothing you¡¯ve expected. The plane ride did not seem as long as it was; partly because I was lost in my own thoughts with hopes and anxiety. I thought about what I will become in this massive country I was headed and how soon I will adapt to this new culture and people.
Since the moment my oldest brothers moved to the United States my family knew we could not be apart from each other. Four years past, enough time to finally go start a new life with my brothers in the U.S. In between those four years I was born, my sisters would always talk about my unknown brother to me. Then they told me we were going to move. I was barely two years when we came to the U.S. It was February 25, 2004 when we said goodbye to my grandparents, mom and dads family. It was a long ride from Mexico City to Nogales, when we arrived in Nogales my brothers friend, Alejandro was waiting for us in a minivan. Alejandro told us that the toughest part was coming. He said we had to split up, my sisters and dad was going to walk through the
On July 11th, 20011, my life was forever changed. In that day, I moved from Congo to the United Sates. It was excitement and fear at the same time, because my life was no longer the same. When I arrived in Atlanta, I realized how much efforts and sacrifices I had to make to adapt the American culture.
My story starts in the year of 2003, when I decided to follow up on my
I walked around unsteadily all day like a lost baby, far away from its pack. Surrounded by unfamiliar territory and uncomfortable weather, I tried to search for any signs of similarities with my previous country. I roamed around from place to place and moved along with the day, wanting to just get away and go back home. This was my first day in the United States of America.
Before I move to the states I had no idea of diversity here. Like many foreigners I knew nothing about north and south as too cultural concepts. The picture of an American in my mind was a white or black person. There were no place for other ethnicities. To be honest the picture of whites was dominant. As all I knew about here was through media and Hollywood movies which normally have white heroes. The only Americans I had meet before were American soldiers in the border of Iran-Iraq when I was traveling Iraq for a visit and the US embassy officers in Turkmenistan who did not waste my time in visa approval process. They all were nice and first realistic picture of an American to me. At the same time they were similar to and different from Americans that I met in the US. For sure 321,000,000 are not the same although that they may have features in common. In fact this is how we
My family and I in 2008 moved from Trinidad and Tobago to America. We were all so excited to move to a new country. We heard about all the fun experiences and great opportunities that America had to offer. I must admit that I had mixed emotions about moving to a new country. On one hand, I was exactly happy because I was going to have an opportunity to go college and presume my dream of being a childhood teacher or child psychologist. On the other hand, I was sad because I was leaving all my Tobago friends and family
"Yesenia tu tienes una chispa" said a much older white haired man. At that moment how could a snot nosed brat understand the importance of words coming out of this man's mouth? A big part of me today traces back to words my grandfather so sweetly spoke to me and to the tenderness and love he shared with me. "Yesenia you have a spark" He said it to me I was raised to believe I am unique. The first time my grandfather and I were separated was when my parents made the decision to move to the United States. When you're as young as I was, you don't really understand where you're going or why everyone is crying, or the fact that your life is about to change. Coming to the United States caused chaos in my family. Those first years were hard I wasn't used to an unstable household. Later, my parents divorced that led to hate and
Growing up in Puerto Rico, my biological father was in and out of jail for failing to obey the court rules. As a result, my mother became my mom and dad. Although I had to experience that, I was a straight A student all throughout elementary school.
My life in my perspective has been extraordinary. I have been fortunate enough to travel the United States and live in various parts as well. Each environment that I have been exposed to have differed from one another. The environments in which I was raised changes When my father received his orders. then my family and I have to move to another region of the United States. with these experiences, I have been well-rounded to accommodate to my new and unfamiliar surroundings. throughout my life, I've been privileged to see the world through my own eyes instead of reading about it end books and watching it on television. for example, Honolulu, Hawaii 2 people who have never been the entire island is a resort. but in all actuality the island experiences poverty. without me having to move every so often I wouldn't have known that but the experience of knowing that there are a big world out there very productive gains.
I was born in Bogota, Colombia where most people are catholics. Thus, I was baptized at the age of five. I also went to a catholic school from kindergarten up to second grade. However, I barely attended church because my parents were busy throughout the week to go to church. Then, at the age of nine my family and I moved to the United State.
As I got on the plane I knew my life was changed. The moment when I entered the US it was a new beginning for me. As most migrants would say; this is the land of opportunities, it was totally what I expected.