Personal Narrative Analysis

Father and I arrived in New York two months ago. The city seemed so beautiful compared to the dull sea we had just traveled. The passage here took 20 days and was very tedious. We were in the steerage where it was extremely crowded, and had horrible conditions. We got barely any food, it was worse than Dublin. Just after we left from Liverpool, I knew it was going to be a horrible journey. That passage made all the excitement of America go away, only to be renewed when we saw land. The “Statue of Liberty” was the first thing we saw and everyone came on deck and started celebrating, because we knew we were one step closer to freedom.

Ever since I can remember, I knew my destiny was coming to the United States sooner or later. In my beloved Colombia, I thought it would never happen, however, at the age 10, this girl had to fulfill her destiny. My transition and departure of my homeland was a mixture of heartbreak and joy.

Five years ago, when I first came to the United States, I was really worried about my future. This large country was brand new to me since I realized my English could not catch up with the language that the natives were using. Little did I know about the American culture and lifestyle. Therefore, thinking of getting to school or going to the supermarket made me shiver every time. My illusion on the new life in the U.S was totally vanished, I got pulled down by reality. I remembered those days, when I had to stay up until midnight to translate math word problems or to stand and stare at the teachers for a long period of time because I did not understand the instructions or their questions. It was a nightmare to me when I thought about going to

At the age of twenty nine, I faced an inevitable, drastic, and ultimately life changing decision. My options were limited, with no stress-free path to select. One path led down a very dark road, one that would have led to an abrupt end to my own life. The other route led to personal happiness, however, met with great sacrifice. Being that I felt strongly against the first option, I chose the second path. A reset button was pressed.

I came to the United States from Russia almost 15 years ago in the 1999, with perspectives to discover something new and maybe in the pursuit of success. Being 17 year old out of high school I had no idea what to do with my life and what expect from this country. Nevertheless, I expected more opportunities and chances for success here than from my motherland.

My first impression of America consisted of a scene jam-packed with people, roaring car engines, and flashing lights. Imagine a sweet couple with their two-and-a-half-year-old toddler being deposited by foreign airlines onto American soil for the first time, uncomfortable in their surroundings and unaware this was the usual hustle and bustle found in the American lifestyle. After winning an extremely rare chance to acquire visas, my family and I immigrated to the America from our homeland of Ethiopia. My parents spoke a very little English and I spoke none. Growing up as an immigrant in a foreign land, I had to adapt to my new environment and I struggled with this. Being an immigrant at such a young age caused me to develop feelings of uncertainty

Mike and his wife Barb were happy to see me again. When I pulled into their driveway they were waiting outside his shop. Mike and I had made arrangements for me to purchase another ATV from him. This time I arrived to look at a 1984 Honda ATC250ex that he had restored. Mike is a shade tree mechanic who repairs old vehicles and ATVs and then flips them for a small profit. Entering his shop presents one with at least a dozen quads and dirt bikes all in a different stage of restoration. The youngest model in restoration is at least 25 years old. While most of the ATVs were in non-running condition, they weren’t treated like discarded trash. Each of Mike’s ATVs was positioned with disassembled parts sorted nearby as if every project had its own

I was born in San Diego, California in the year 1998. I lost my mom to cancer 3 years later, but asking about her has always brought me closer to my older siblings and dad. My dad remarried a couple years later, and our family began to feel more crowded as relatives from the Philippines moved into our small apartment to start pursue the American dream. We managed to squeeze 12 people into our home of two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a small kitchen. Despite the situation, I was happy from the new company because I now had people around my age to play with, who were my two cousins; one was the same age as me but the other was a year older. I remember playing in our yard using flattened cardboard boxes to slide down the hill on which are appartment

hanging out with my family because I had not yet made any friends. When school started by the end of the first day I had quite a few friends. After seventh and eighth grade I started my high school days at Loveland High School. As a kid I moved around a lot, from small towns to big cities. It sucked as a kid, but in the long run it was good for my social skills. The earliest memory I have of moving is when I was going to kindergarten in fort collins and we moved to scottsbluff nebraska which is where I was born.

From 1999 to early 2004, my life in Guamuchil, Sinaloa, was a routine one. I was born to two hard working parents, constantly surrounded by family as most of us lived within short walking distance of each other. This routine life, however, was turned upside down when my dad was laid off from his job. After years of financially struggling and contemplating our family’s future, my dad’s job loss was the push that finally motivated my parents to relocate us in hopes of a better life. Being a five-year old, I didn’t completely understand what our move meant until I found myself in a strange country with an equally strange language. Once I began school, my constant frustration was not being able to communicate with the other children. Making friends

When I was seven years old my family and I move to Reno, Nevada. My parents were hired by three different companies. Months later, it was difficult for us because they were too busy and extremely exhausted from work. My brothers had no choice but to let go of their dreams of not going to college by finding a job. It was hard for them to make that decision, but it was better for all of us. I would never forget when we were kids when my dad always talked about the importance of having an education. We were admired by the displays of degrees of our aunties, uncles, and parents. But having to face a hardship where my parents’ mail was overflowing with due dates was unimaginable. I saw my mom shed a tear and I remember I heard my parents talk that

When I was a little kid around 6-7 I spent a lot of my time with my older cousin Jeremy he was only 3 years older though. I was the second oldest during that time but my older brother lived with my dad and my baby sister was like 1 so I could only play with my cousin. So when I was at my cousins house my uncle would try to teach me and my cousin how to skate, my cousin already knew a little bit about the skateboard, whilst I knew absolutely nothing. so my uncle got me a skateboard and a helmet, no knee pads or elbow pads because he said if i fall and get a cut i’ll only get better and better. Sadly I believed him, and i could have fell a million times, and i only got a tiny bit better. But all that taught me skills, patient, and just to practice harder. But i'm still learning, i'm

I still remember that day-when the world burst into flames. Well, my world at least. Growing up in the lively city of Lakeville, Minnesota was easygoing: school was great, I had a lot of friends, and participated in many activities. My life was good. Little did I know that my life was gonna soon change because I was leaving the only place that ever felt like home to me.

I ate at the small cafe in our natural foods store for lunch today. When I arrived, it was mostly women with their children eating lunch, which was interesting in itself. Most of the men I saw were just buying groceries, though there were a couple with their families. There was one elderly man eating with his daughter and grandson, and they were all talking with another woman. After he finished eating his sandwich he used a toothpick to clean his teeth. I realized that I have seen my grandfather do this, but I don’t think I have seen a woman ever doing it. If women have something in their teeth they are most likely to go to the bathroom and floss or swish with water. This man had clearly brought toothpicks with him, and I assume it is routine

I still remember that hot sunny day in India when I was sitting in a boring assembly, when one of the alumni who came from the the United States of America after finishing his studies gave an inspiring speech about his life in the United States. He talked about the American dream and freedom in the country that inspired me to come in the states to further my studies. At that moment I decided to accomplish my goals and start to finish my bachelors degree in the United States. Knowing that the road I picked will be full of hurdles, I still decided to stay focused and dedicated to get a good quality education. When I was sitting in the flight to the United States, I had a completely different image of the US but when I stepped out of the flight on to the US ground I saw the reality of the US. I saw all the openning doors of opportunities lined up for me. First few months in America went great; everything was going normal and America seemed to turn out like the place I saw in the movies and T.V., but suddenly things took a different turn and I started to see the true face of America.