Personal Narrative: First Generation American

I can remember seeing my mother cry because she said she did not want to return to Mexico and live in the horrible conditions we were living in before. She begged my father to do something so we did not have to return to Mexico. One day my father came home telling my mother that he had heard of migrant work camps established by the U.S. Farm Security Administration, or FSA and that they had a possibility of getting jobs there to stay in the U.S. The camps provided housing, food, and medicine for immigrant families as well as safety from any criminal elements that can take advantage of defenseless immigrants. We had the possibility of staying we were extremely happy!! Little by little more Mexicans have extended their stay as well as the places were we live at. The most popular places where Mexicans live at now are Chicago, California, and New York.

As a first generation Indian-American, I am no stranger to being a part of a distinct community while observing two unique cultures. Traveling to India exposed me to a dynamic population with rich diversity comprising of numerous languages and differing religions. Though these individuals may have had differing customs from their neighbors, there were similar ambitions to conquer grinding poverty. This poverty can be clearly noticed by seeing citizens sleeping on floors of a railway station, or the lack of air conditioning in searing hot weather. The frailty and mortality of the human condition was starkly visible in India. As a fellow human, I was humbled not only by the lack of privilege and opportunity of many citizens, but also by their

As a first-generation Mexican American, I am the product of two cultures merged into one. Like many immigrants, my parents left behind their homeland and came with just the clothes on their back. They were fish out of water when they first arrived in America. They came here with hopes of pursuing the American Dream but soon realized that they weren't going to be the ones to achieve the American Dream. They worked hard so that my younger brother and I could have a shot at it. So they’ve educated us and passed the Dream along to us. The hardships experienced by my parents have inspired me to take on my own challenges. Because of the sacrifices my parents made, I am where I am today. It's an unspoken responsibility that one day I will give back to those who gave me so much.

I am a first-generation immigrant, a DACA recipient, a DREAMer. I was brought into the United States as a child and since then have struggled to become a part of our society. Growing up, there was just enough for my family. The extra we had came at the cost of not being around the parents much and with the thought that they might not come back after work in the back of our minds. No matter how busy my parents were to provide for my brothers and I, they always made sure the little time they had was focus on us, our studies, and to raise us to be good citizens of the world.

January 1st, 2001, I was born to be first. Two hours before I was delivered, the University of Washington came first in the Rose Bowl. Being born on such a good day, my parents believed I was a lucky baby. They became convinced that I would have amazing fortune in the future and would come first in all competitions and trials life had for me. However, being first also meant I’d be the first one to face obstacles.

America is like a family for while we squabble on the inside we come together to defeat the threats on the outside.We are now more deeply divided than we have ever been.For some people, it seems as if America will never come back to being united and that we are destined to be driven more and more apart.

Growing up in America, the majority of people are never worried about where their next meal is coming from or how it was prepared. I have personally been spoiled throughout my life always having an abundant supply of food along with a mother that cooked every meal for me. I dreaded waking up at 5am every morning to head off to the chicken house and pick up, at times, hundreds of dead chickens. Taking Food Science 1000 this semester, I now have a wealth of knowledge about food and food science. I now have a greater appreciation for farmers worldwide as their hard work provides billions of families with food. It has shown me that even small family operations, like my family's, still make a huge impact on the world. Before this class I never really

Being new in U.S gave the opportunity to start a new life with new, and hopefully, better opportunities. But it also implies to start from zero, from the bottom have nothing. Sleeping on the floor without television, without a cellphone and trying to find a good taste to the food from here made me feel like a prisoner in a nice jail.

The event that I am choosing to show my American Identity, is when President Obama got elected. I’m choosing this life event because, President Obama was our first African American to hold the office. Also President Obama was the first president born outside the continental United States. When I think of President Obama being the first African American president, I think that is amazing because, I would have never thought that he would win because of racism. I think that President Obama was a strong leader and was a great president and did a good job.

My family history has two distinct sides in the time since World War 2, my mother’s side hails from the south, primarily Arkansas while my father’s family lives in the north, in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Since the Second World War, the world has undergone some radical changes and has gone through very well defined eras. The fifties saw the rebuilding efforts begin in several war torn countries. In the sixties rapid growth in both economics and population had everyone riding high. The seventies saw a movement in which people preached that people needed to be more down to earth and more in tune with nature. The eighties saw rising crisis across the globe. The nineties saw the internet boom and the bust of the Soviet Union. The turn of the millennia saw a continued fight for freedom from oppression and the attempt to improve the lives of those in conflict zones. In all this, my family saw moments in history, and at certain points, were even involved in history.

She felt as if she was trapped, in an endless void of grief. As if she was trapped in a room, and the door was locked and she had no way out. If only she looked a little harder, walked a little further, she would have found that the walls were open. She could be free, only if she allowed herself to be, only if she let

My family never had the opportunity to have luxurious goods; we started out at the bottom of the food chain. They never even had the opportunity to take their education higher than middle school. From the beginning, as soon as we they were old enough, they would head out to a small ranch in the valley and work. Mexico is a cruel place, especially when your family is barely making enough money to survive the week. All of my family originated from Mexico, and all of us know what it’s like to be living in the shadows of society. Back in Mexico, my future was engraved in stone, that is until my family ditched their way of living so I wouldn't go through the same struggle. Little did they know that I would still face many struggles. The journey

My stomach felt like it was being dragged around inside when I first took steps into the funeral home. The smell of lavender lurked around the room, as the dim light of the candles sat at each

As the descendant of an immigrant father and his father before him, I’ve witnessed firsthand the means and consequences of trying to enter this country and become a citizen. The

Eighteen years ago, when I was the age of two, my parents made the choice of crossing the border into the United States to better our lives. They made the sacrifice, knowing the risks we were facing. We crossed over into a new dimension, a tornadic whirl of culture and language, where everything was foreign to us. The soil under us was no longer the same. The plants were no longer the same. Even the air, was no longer the same. The red shoes on my feet were the only thing reminding me of the past, but I could not click them together, wish three times and be home. My future changed instantly as we crossed the border into the United States. I had to find my yellow brick road. My transition into the United States, at a young age, has had a great influence on my leadership style and the way I handle conflicts.