Personal Narrative: I Am An Immigrant

Welcome. A single word on the carpet by the door greets me whenever I come home. There had been times where that one word made my heart beat and cry with joy. But not now, for many things changed through the years. Now when I look at this carpet, I instead question back: ‘Do you really mean that?’

There were three lessons that my immigrant parents ingrained in their first-generation children: Work hard, never give up, and most importantly, give back. Among other life lessons they taught us, these three were the basis for everything. It would be the basis that would and will define me as a person.

It is not uncommon to hear one recount their latest family reunion or trip with their cousins, but being a first generation immigrant, I sacrificed the luxury of taking my relatives for granted for the security of building a life in America. My parents, my brother, and I are the only ones in my family who live in the United States, thus a trip to India to visit my extended family after 4 years was an exciting yet overwhelming experience. Throughout the trip, I felt like a stranger in the country where I was born as so many things were unfamiliar, but there were a few places that reminded me of my childhood.

I was always a precocious child, yet argumentative and rebellious. I did not want to accomplish anything following a pattern set for me. I wanted to forge my own way. This determination set me at odds with my mother, and has defined our relationship all these years. It has surely led me down my own irregular path in life, and placed me in position to be the family’s black sheep.

On a random Thursday morning in the middle of October, I became an orphan. I have always been independent and mature from a young age, but all that changed on a crisp day in November when I learned what it means to grow up. Something typically marked by a Bat Mitzvah or the acquisition of a driver’s license was, for me, marked by the arrest of my single mother.

Hi, I’m Anna Sophia Wager and I am from Germany. I immigrated to the United States in 1908. There was a big drought and my mother and father were very ill. I was helping my parents and my other family. One day, my father pulled me aside after school. I was a teacher at Berlin British School. He talked very softly. “Anna Sophia,” My father said, “Here is a ticket to Americana. Go and find Ben.” Ben was my older brother. My parents gave him a ticket to the United States. I looked at the ticket. It was a ticket that was golden brown. I gave my father a hug and ran to my room. I started packing, I didn’t know what was ahead of me. It was finally my third week on the crowded boat. When I look own the steerage door I see the dirty faces, hard lumpy beds, and chunky slimy soup.

I am an immigrant. I look and act like any other student at Reading High School, participating in class and school extracurricular activities. But, I live in constant fear. I am afraid that I may never be who I want to be. I worry that I may not get a job, go to college, or even get a driver's license. But what I worry most about is that my parents will be deported back to Mexico someday and I will lose my family, forever.

I never knew my dad was illegally in the United States until he was arrested by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Everything happened so fast, and before I knew it my whole life was changing. One day I was having a pizza date with my dad, and a few days later I was in the car on a 3 hour drive to the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center to say goodbye to him as he awaited his deportation to Mexico. My father's deportation has been the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. It has brought on emotional hardships and financial struggles, which, has brought on challenges regarding my education.

I am from a country with beautiful landscapes that has turned into a warzone country.

Growing up in the US as an immigrant, my childhood was a little different from most people’s. I faced many struggles due to the differences in cultures, social, and economics. However, I was able to overcome all those challenges and become a more humble, responsible, and determined individual because of my ability to adapt quickly, be compassionate, and stay goals-oriented.

My father left my mother as a young immigrant, he left me at a young age, I only had my mother and my little sister. I couldn’t imagine the world without them, so when I discovered I could potentially lose my mother, I almost fell apart.

On 06/20/17, at 3:08pm, I Deputy Warden N. Christian was dispatched to 2645 Travis Road on a dog being held, no known owner. I arrived at the location and met with complainant. Complainant is a leasing agent for the above listed property. Complainant had the dog in the back of an abandoned apartment (fence in patio). The complainant took me to the location the dog was being held, I impounded the dog and placed a white terrier mix in my vehicle. The terrier had no identifying tags to indicate ownership. I transported the dog to Franklin County Animal Shelter (FCACC). Dog owner John Allen Jr redeemed the dog on 06/21/17. Mr. Allen did not show proof of dog license or vaccinate for his dog name Mabelline. I issued Mr. Allen violations

I tried to log into my online endnote account, but it shows that there is an issue with the roaming feature. I honestly do not understand what that means, so I contacted the endnote customer support, which means that it will take a little longer until I get the response. If this is urgent, please let me know so that I can figure out other

Just like other immigrant students, I came here to the United State with zero English at the age of eleven. I did not expect myself to be good in English, nor speaking English fluently. In spite of that, I started sixth grade at the U.S and learned English as my second language. I was repressed of the new environment, but after a few weeks of school, I started to receive many support from classmates and teachers. They are encouraged me to maintain the good works and always inspired me with a bright future.

It was late 1960’s and it was a huge deal for someone to leave their whole life , to abandon the house the individual lived in for so long. It’s just like starting your life all over again at a new place, in a new house, with new friends, with another language. It’s not easy to do that but sometimes that is required to do if you want to guarantee your family to have a better future. This is personal story of a person , but their name is going to stay confidential. Like I said it was the 1960’s and all everyone was talking about was how great America is. Many people immigrated from Bulgaria at that time so it wasn’t anything new. The individual came to US because they wanted to find new opportunities for a better life.