Personal Narrative Essay: Maryland To Japan

My move from South Korea to the United States was to this day the hardest, most stressful event of my whole entire life. At the age of six, I gave up the comfort of my friends, culture, and home to move to a country halfway across the world. Korea was everything I knew and loved. Having never set foot outside of the country, all my dreams and aspirations were set in Korea. Although I was a fickle child and my goals changed constantly, they all were intertwined with Korea. I was going to become a pianist in Korea and teach piano to students. Another time, I decided I was going to become a math teacher at the school I was attending. My view of the world was limited, but I was happy in my familiar, safe place. My move to America changed my whole perspective.

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck is a novel containing the problems that people in old Monterey, California, dealt with. Steinbeck grew up in this broken town and watched how life worked around him. Steinbeck himself went through these struggles of having multiple secret insecurities while others perceived him as much different. John Steinbeck now writes about the reality of how people are not always what they seem to be.

My family and I felt exhausted after driving three days across the country from Albuquerque, New Mexico to California, Maryland.  We were about a half hour from our hotel when the skies turned dark and it started to rain. The raindrops hit the road so hard I thought the road would crack open and swallow our car.  There was lightning all around us and my younger sister Skyler and I thought we would be struck through the glass. We both were so scared we started crying.  I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest and I screamed: "we are going to die". I learned that day that the rubber on the tires would ground the car and no way could we be hit by lightning. Usually when a parent tells you in ten minutes it’s more like 20-30 minutes

Today was the day. I was moving from small town Avilla, Indiana to the huge city of Los Angeles, California. This was a big change for me. Not being able to see family or friends that often? That was hard, don’t get me wrong but having to fly? THAT WAS TERRIBLE! I hated heights. Still do as a matter of fact. I’ve been confused on what I wanted to do lately…drive or fly? Which was faster? Safer? Who knew? Multiple things would’ve gone wrong with both decisions.

Coming to AmericaThe year was 1948, and my grandmothers aunt and uncle came for a visit from Chicago to Germany to see their family. They had no children and had come to ask my grandmother if she would be interested in coming to Chicago to possibly live there w ith them. The idea of going appealed to her very much since her home city, Saarbrcken, was still partially destroyed from the WWII bombings. She always had the wanderlust in her blood coming from both sides of her family, so thinking about the towering skyscrapers, the bustling city streets, and the glamorous movies from America was quite enticing to my grandmother. With all off these wondrous thoughts swimming through her head, she enthusiastically agreed to go.Now, it was time to prepare

It was the day we were leaving for Florida for a U16 soccer tournament in West Palm Beach, July 2nd to be precise. A drive to Florida from where we live takes around 18 hours. We finished supper at 5:30, completed packing, and were on the road at 6:30. We were traveling south on Interstate 83. Nothing much to see as we were driving down the highway. A few trees here and there, and a wide variety of fields that were thriving with crops.

In 1996 Angelina was only thirty years old when she first arrived in America. Angelina left behind her 7 other siblings and parents, to start a new life in this unknown country. Before coming to America she lived in a tiny town in Mexico, her life in Mexico was much nicer than her life in America from what she described. Angelina mentioned that one of her biggest passions is cooking, “My sisters and I had our own restaurant, we sold food during the day, and during the night I would go out with friends and buy ice cream or delicious churros.” For Angelina one of the biggest benefits of living in Mexico was being close to her family members, “the whole family would go out on field trips every now and then, my favorite were trips to the beach,

I remember when I first moved to America. I remember how scared I was to move to a whole new country and didn’t know a soul within 400 miles of me. Everything was brand new and I was basically a newborn child in this world at the age of 4. I remember how we met, we bonded over the sport of soccer. I remember how we became the best of friends, and how we would carpool to Pre-K together. Then, she had a game for her church. I remember it was freezing because it was early January. She scored a goal right before half time, and then was taken off for the rest of the game. I remember seeing her panting on the bench, then I saw her lie down the bench. I figured she was tired, but then I saw her convulsing on the bench. I didn’t even realize what

Imagine moving to a totally new country at the age of 16 without parents. Well, my grandma Lise, at the age of 16 moved to America from a little island located in the Pacific Ocean, called Micronesia. She moved to America with an American named Jim, because she was supposed to get married to him and he wanted her to move with him to America. So my grandma and Jim moved to America.

“Times of transition are strenuous, but I love them. They are an opportunity to purge, rethink priorities, and be intentional about new habits. We can make our new normal any way we want”. -Kristin Armstrong. When I heard this quote it reminds me of a specific time in my life when I moved to another country. There are a couple of events that helped me become who I am now.

There are many significant parts of my life that have had a huge impact on my personality, but there is one that has not only affected me, but has changed me for the better. My personal life changing experience was coming to America. For me, this bridge between my old life and new life is a shaky bridge that I attempted to cross and entered a whole new realm of life which changed everything. The decision about coming to America has taught me how to respect other people, be more responsible, and be more loving towards various friends and families. It has also helped me adapt to the new life that I’m about to begin. It was so unexpected. Out of nowhere my parents broke the news: “We’re going to America!” Living in a big town of Bhopal,

Imagine laying on a private beach right now in California. You’re sitting in a comfortable lawn chair with a front-row seat to the Pacific Ocean. You have waiters bringing you any kind of drink or food you want, and the sun is making you golden tan. Now, imagine the thrill you get while being on a roller coaster. The sun is beating down on you while you’re standing in line, but the wait for the exhilarating roller coaster is worth it. I got to experience all of this and more on my trip to Los Angeles, California. I went on this trip the week of my birthday, which is July 31, with my parents and my two sisters. My second trip to California was an unforgettable experience that was important due to all of the locations I got to visit, all of the knowledge I now have from this trip, and all of the memories I made with my family.

I went to Burger King with three friends. We walked a long way then I

A life-changing event is not something to be taken lightly. Throughout our lives, we encounter many obstacles and changes, some of which bring us joy and excitement, others of which may be hard for us to handle. When I look back on my relatively short life, it may, at first, be hard for me to think of an event that has truly molded and shaped the person that I am today. I have encountered several changes, but at the time, they felt like mere speed bumps along my path. Looking back now, it is easy for me to see that these changes were not by chance, but were placed in my path to form the person that I am today.

up the phone and rang my Tom’s father to thank him, and for me and Tom