Personal Narrative: My Life As A Mexican Immigrant

Coming from a Mexican immigrant family I have learned to recognize since a very young age that because of the status that my parents are placed in they cannot pursue a better future like the one I want. I have been given the opportunity to challenge myself with obtaining a higher education than just high school itself. My parents have demonstrated to me through their hard work that I have to value this opportunity unless I want to end up with low paying job. My life long dedication comes from seeing my parents make sacrifices in order for my education to continue.

My story would have never begun if my parents had not made a huge decision in my life, almost 15 years ago. When they decided to move our family across the border, my future would be become unknown. The fate I had been destined to have was completely altered, now, I had the opportunity to change my life for the better, to strive for something bigger. My parents pushed me to be the best I could be, and to work as hard as possible to get what I wanted. As the daughter of two Mexican immigrants I grew up in a very cultural household, and being surrounded by Spanish at all times. The only negative being I had to learn English on my own, and which led to me having some difficulty when I first started school. Yet, growing up in a Spanish speaking

As a child, I never realized the obstacles my family went through and why they wanted me to be the best student at the school. My parents tried their best in sheltering me from the truth but I always knew we were struggling financially. Growing up, I witnessed my parents struggle to find jobs and a stable house

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.

Criss-cross applesauce I sat upon the rock with the Froggy book upon my lap. The afternoon sunlight hitting upon the pages and illuminating the text. Eyes wandering left, right, up, and down as I see the boy running through the grass and getting on his bike to roam through the rocky driveway. I dare not leave my spot for the sake of his safety and remain seated, opening my backpack to start on the vocabulary words assigned for English class that week. The words of my mother from the morning are in the back of my mind, ¨Llegó pronto y cuida mucho a tu hermanito, te quiero mucho.¨

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

Being born in the large west African nation of Nigeria, I was aware of the economic, social, and health hardships faced by many people in my country. This reality did not escape my life and the hardships my family and I faced while in Nigeria had a profound impact in the person I am today. Fortunately for us we were able to win the Visa Lottery and immigrate to America where my passion for learning and science began.

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.

As I walked into the house, my parents were waiting for me in the living room. I did not know what was happening, but from the look in their eyes, I knew that was something wrong. My mother sat me down to tell me that my father had lost his business. The situation seemed so hectic; yet, the conversation felt like it lasted a lifetime. Finding out this news was detrimental to my family because my father had worked hard in America to build this business. I learned that my father had to give up his business and, as result my family had to start over, and find a new way to make a living.

During the early 1900’s thousands of immigrants traveled to America in hopes of improving their lives as well as their families’ lives. These immigrants were in search of opportunities which would allow them to pursue their dreams. While it was an extensive and risky trip to travel to America, the reward of political freedom outnumbered the risks associated with this voyage. After arriving in America these immigrants adjusted to their new life, opened businesses and settled into their new lifestyle. They did this as they worked to achieve the “American Dream.” These immigrants did not have a simple lifestyle but were forced to work hard in order to meet their needs as well as enjoy the luxuries that their new life had to offer. These immigrants

My mother moved to Philadelphia at the age of fifteen with her older brother who was in his early twenties at the time. This was the start of my mother’s own personal American Dream. Buffalo was not enough for her in terms of resources and social connections. At an age where one can not legally obtain a Driver’s Permit, my mother sought out to change the course of life that could have headed down a dark path. Growing up I had three older siblings and we were all raised by our single mother. Being so young, I rarely noticed that our family faced things that my other friends did not have to go through. Sometimes the lights would turn off for a couples days, there were periods when the television would shut off for a month, and leftovers were eaten more frequently than food was bought. From then till now, my mother went from earning an income that was just barely above the poverty line to owning a successful business with almost two hundred employers. After two generations of discovery and success through living the American Dream it is now my turn to discovery my own American Dream as the product of two hardworking and dedicated Hispanic women.

As an immigrant from a third world country, Kenya, coming to America was nothing but a dream. America was a foreign place I had only heard of. Moving to a foreign land with my family at the age of fourteen with nothing much other than the clothes on our backs, I watched how hard my parents had to work as they had to start over in order to be able to provide for the family. From an early age the importance of hard work was ingrained in me and I was very determined to work hard in school and whatever I choose to do in order to make something of myself.

Growing up in a immigrant family and being a first generation born U.S. citizen, I experienced a lot of things most kids might've not. There were positives moments in my life, but we all know life is not easy, everyone has something that prevents them from falling asleep at night.

My dad’s parents settled in Miami, Florida, with five children and the aspiration to live the “American Dream” , the ultimate goal for immigrant families.I grew with stories of when they first came to the U.S they barely kept up as they tried to acculturate to the U.S., how they struggled with