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Personal Narrative: Becoming An Immigrant

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Un inmigrante siempre será un inmigrante.” (West Side Story) Once an immigrant, always an immigrant. Sixteen years ago my parents made an unthinkable decision. Leaving behind their jobs, families, and everything they knew to pursue life in an unfamiliar country; the American Dream. So, one fateful morning my mother said her goodbyes boarded a plane with me in her arms at barely a year old. My dad had arrived earlier, flying from Argentina to New York on his own. I was too young to fully comprehend the struggle it was to assimilate in a country where they did not speak the language. Once I got older, I heard stories of their experiences and began to understand first-hand what it meant to be an immigrant in America. Around the age of two, I said my first word. …show more content…

This was not surprising, nor was it an issue, since my parents both spoke Spanish at home. I recall my mother carrying around a Spanish-to-English dictionary religiously, pulling it out in grocery stores or doctor’s appointments to able to communicate with the strangers around her. The language barrier first became an issue at age four, when I was set to start preschool. I could not go in blindly, and so in the months leading up to the day my parents spent hours teaching me the little English they had acquired. Armed with new sneakers and a whole new vocabulary, I started my first day of school. It was a learning experience for both my parents and I, but when it was over I felt like I fit in. Kids do not care where you are from or if your English isn’t up to par. In fact they only cared about two things: how good you were at tag and what kinds of crayons you had. Lucky for me, I was doing great in both departments. I experienced my first year of elementary school alongside the friends I previously made.

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