Personal Narrative: Moving To America

There are 22.1 million noncitizens in America and my aunt's mother used to be one of them. This essay will tell all about it. In “American history”, Music for my Mother, and The Writing on the Wall. Being an immigrant means that to start becoming an American which meant the Cultural difference, prejudices, and to have hope.

The first day in the United States is one of the best day and most thrilling days in my life. My father and my older sister move to Malaysia to get a job and support our family due to financial difficulty and lack of job opportunity in Burma. After a few years, my father and my sister were able to enter as immigrant and they were sent to the United States as immigrants through United Nation. After being apart with my father and my sister for more than a decade, my parents decide to move completely to America where more opportunities are available for a brighter future. My family faces many obstacles during the process of migrating to America. Despite all the struggle that are on our way, my family finally arrives in the United States and face major changes in life.

One major event that changed my life was when I moved to the U.S. I was attending school in Japan, finishing 5th grade and one day my dad got PCS to Idaho, so my family had to move there. When I heard at we were moving to the America, I was jumping for joy. But I didn’t know any English that time and I couldn’t speak or understand English, so I was worried. When I moved to the U.S I was peeling my eyes and noticed that the place is dry as dust, and the cars in U.S were really big, big as a monster truck. Also, the people were tall as a giraffe. I started middle school in Idaho. The first thing I noticed was people were wearing regular street clothes and had their hair dyed. I was really surprised because back in Japan I was wearing a school

On September 24, 2010, an airplane carried me to the ground of another country, to another dialect, new culture, new places, new habits, new challenges, new people and all in all, new life. I won't describe for you a lot about how hard it was to say farewell to all my relative and my friends, because I think you can picture yourself what would it feel like to leave everybody you know in your own country and move to America. When you leave your adolescence home — the place where you grew up, your local area or your country of residence or your homeland or anyway you feel to call it — you leave a piece of you behind. Before I came here in America, I thought that I would be in Hollywood, cozy house, bunches of tall structures, however to my mistake

Transitions are a part of life. Most people their first big move is going to college after high school. Mine was gliding over the Pacific Ocean at the age of three to New Zealand. When most people think of this country, they think of The Lord of the Rings, an abundance of sheep, or even, “that one island close to Australia”. To me, though, New Zealand was my home. After nine years, I would be leaving everything I knew and I would be moving to America. However, my life did not start in New Zealand. I was born in Fairfax Hospital, Virginia, and for the first three years of my life, I lived in America. I don’t remember much about the house we lived in, but I do remember walks to the park and my black Labrador: Pepper. We had to leave her behind when we moved to New Zealand in 2000 because strict bio-security laws would require her to be quarantined. She was left behind. I left many more memories behind in New Zealand when I moved back to America in 2009. Things like

Living a good life as an immigrant in America is a big challenge. In fact, getting a reasonable life is not easy in many countries around the world, but as an immigrant in the United States that involves huge determinations. Thus, anyone who decides to move to another place or community should expect to face many challenges. Most of the time, an immigrant’s reason(s) for leaving their country is based on a hard life for some without figuring out that life in the USA might be harder as well as a better life for others who may have a good life in their motherland. Generally, they are all disappointed by what they encounter. Denis Hunt, a director of Multi-cultural Human Services, a Falls Church, Virginia-based organization that helps immigrants adjust to life in the United States, said “the issues immigrants face can be even more daunting. Most immigrant parents who arrive in new communities are faced with immediate challenges to their survival, including securing a job, finding a place to live, buying food, and enrolling their children in school" (“US immigrants face new challenges”). Despite this situation, it is conceivable for immigrants regardless their origin, to live a good life in America. However, it cannot happened merely by snapping their fingers; massive efforts are required, including working hard, learning English, resolving transportation issues, understanding of the culture, and getting educated.

My family was going through a really hard time during that time. My father was not able to provide enough money to sustain all nine of us, and me being the only man out of the nine of us, I felted the responsibility to help him out. During that time, one of my uncles was planning to crossed to United States and so I crossed with him”. I followed by asking him how old was he when he immigrated and if his parents supported his decision. He began to count from the year he was born to the year he immigrated, “eighteen” he said, and “no, my parents didn’t not support my decision but I didn’t listen to them”. As the interview kept going I was engaging more and more to know about Jose’s life. I followed and asked him of his expectations of the United States and if he found what he was expecting. He answered my question by telling me that he expected what all immigrants expect of the U.S. He expected a change in his lifestyle and he expected better job opportunities, and the chance to help his family in Mexico. As to if he had found what he expected, he replied, “Si(Yes)”, this because of the freedom and the ability to change a lifestyle that the United States provide to immigrants. Jose also mentioned that he was able to help his family economically. I than asked him if there was anything that made him feel connected to his homeland culture and if so what was it. Jose answer my question by stating that on his arrival to the United States, he

Last year, August 1 was nice day we were at home eating lunch and someone who work at UN call my dad and he said ''you will travel to U.S.A after two week'', he ask my dad are you agree to travel to U.S.A ? My dad said ''yes I agree''.

Though I felt dread, I also felt lucky, because my own family’s transition into the U.S. seemed suddenly quite simple. In the early 1900’s my grandmother was believed to have been kidnapped and brought “illegally” across the border, but all children born to my family after that were U.S. citizens by birth. I began to think, the mother to that girl came here to the U.S. to be an American, and though she may not legally be an American she is still an American

For the past sixteen years, my father had always told me and my family that we were going to be relocated to the United States of America, but for some reason it never really happened. At this point, moving had become second nature to me but it was always in India. As my dad moved up the corporate ladder, I had moved to five different states in India before I moved to Maryland. But when my dad told us again that we were going to move to America, no one believed him.

Growing up as the product of poverty and migration has always forced children to mature early. Children born to immigrant parents are not always granted the privilege that is childhood. We are forced to grow up and help our parents navigate a world that is as foreign and complex to them as it is to us. This incredibly complex and confusing world that children of immigrants face often leaves a mark on one’s family—a mark that is oftentimes painful.

More than 11 million people in the United States have migrated from all around the world. People decide to migrate for many reasons such as living in poverty, no education, and lack of opportunities. They all have the same dream of striving in life for their future and well being. One of those millions of people was my mother. She took the courage and bravery of leaving all that meant the world to her, move forward and migrating into a new country. From leaving Mexico to Illinois, and now residing in California, her journey was a quite a ride. My mother’s journey has been something that has changed her life and she is forever grateful she took this big step.

In the late summer of 2002, after thirteen persistent years of applying for a green card, my father 's escape from the difficult circumstances in Turkish society became achievable. Spending quite some time on the Turkish cargo ship, Obo Deniz, my father had time to reflect on what he wanted to do with his life. At the age of nine, my father had already dropped out of elementary school to help my grandfather harvest his crops. From a young age, the inevitable labor enforced on my father led him to dream of a land where he could work to excel. He had done the same thing for years and noticed that he would not make any progress in his life if he decided to continue living in Turkey. On his trip to America aboard the cargo ship he worked on, my dad decided to leave and never come back. As the ship left dock and made its way back to Turkey, my father stayed in America, looking at his past sail away. At the time, he was married to my mother, Gulsen, who grew up in a rich family that ran one of the biggest steel door companies in Adana. While my dad resided illegally in America, working for minimum wage at a local gas station at the corner of Lake Avenue and 4th street in Smithtown, NY, my mother stayed in Turkey. While my father had been in America, my mother and father waited impatiently for the birth of their first child. My father spent well over a year in America until he felt he needed to be where his family truly needed him. He left America knowing that the chances of

Raised in a lovable small town with generous people, I couldn’t even dream of living elsewhere. However, with my grandparents in America, fighting for us to come to their foreign side, I knew we would eventually move. Soon, my parents started preparing for the nightmare. My curiosity started building up but I would retain myself from throwing questions to my occupied parents. Paperwork, passports and the long-difficult process of immigration was the only talk in the house. To save myself and my brother from the boredom and allow my parents to work efficiently, I started to parent him. Some days I would walk into my parents room to ask to go out and consequently retreat back after just a glance of their tired faces. Pushing away my desires, I decided to assist them as much as I could like an sensible adult. .

My mom arrived in New York in 1990, with my dad right by her side. Knowing that they couldn't get decent jobs without a college diploma, my dad started working with my uncles while my mom stayed at “home”. They eventually made enough money to get a small apartment in downtown Brooklyn, where they would be live for the next 17 years. Their new life officially started in may 1992, when my oldest sister was born.