Personal Narrative: My Return To The United States

My family comes from a humble background. My grandmother started working at the age of 13, with small jobs in order to feed her siblings. My grandfather worked many hard labor jobs in order to provide for our family. With my grandfather’s hard work, he was able to bring my grandmother, my two uncles, my father, my mother, my brother and I into the U.S. My grandparents decided to migrate to the U.S because in Mexico, they had nothing. They had enough to eat but they were still struggling to come out of poverty. When my grandparents migrated into the U.S my grandfather would still work a blue collar job, until he fractured his spine and couldn't work anymore. Nevertheless, that did not stop him from working. He began selling in swap meets, selling

“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.

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 never had a favorite childhood memory,I never had a very imaginative mindset, all I remember is all the terrible things that has ever happened, may I ask this of you reader have you ever felt alone in a world that simply doesn't understand or why look or do things a certain way? I know I have, we live in a judgmental world we all judge people on how they look and act. Let me ask another question have you ever been put up on a pedestal and when you make mistakes people starts questioning why you didn't succeed or if you did why didn't you do things a certain way? Well enough of the questions, My family has always been the ostentatious gregarious type, they are like a diamond in a coal mine. My story begins around 2007 the year I came to America.

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.

Imagine a happy place where everything was all right in the world. You have a loving family and loving friends whom you get you play with all day long until you get tired. Now, imagine that happy place being taken away from you, all in one day. That’s how I felt when I found out I was moving away from my family and friends. When I was young, I did not understand why I had to move away to a place that was completely foreign and unfamiliar. I can still remember the frustration and disbelief I felt when I was told I was moving from Philippines all they way across the world to the United States of America. I cried, I kicked, and I fussed hoping that would make a difference but it did not. It didn’t matter how I felt or whether I understood the reason, because I was moving either way. Moving from Philippines to America was a challenge for me because of the language, I had trouble fitting in and I struggled to make friends.

I am Patt Ryan, an eighteen year old farmer who came to america with a life saving of $3.56. I came with my brother Matt Ryan, a seventeen year old farmer with the life savings of $1.35. We came to America because we wanted to find a better way of life. We also came to find religious freedom. We knew that we would be able to find this in America. My brother and I could not wait to see what America had in store for us. My brother Matt and I sailed to America on the very full Alexina boat. It was a poorly built, crowded boat filled with diseases and short of food. As a result, many of us Irish immigrants got a disease and many others died before we even got to America. My brother and I were one of the lucky ones to stay fairly healthy. Others

Hiding behind the stairs, I heard my mom say, “I think our time here is coming to an end.” Overhearing my parents’ statement startled me. Despite being unaware of the plot of this conversation, I hypothesized that some significant change was going to occur in my family’s life. Later, I entered my mom’s room to ask more questions. Unable to digest the most unanticipated and shocking answer in my life, a surge of questions streamed through my head: Why did we migrate from the US to India initially? Now, why are we moving back to the US? Why are they making arbitrary choices right before I start high school? All these questions swamped my mind.

I think I am talking to the right person. I came to U.S in 1995 March. Because that was my first journey my cousin looked for someone I can travel with and found a person he knew flying to U.S in that same day. I think I travel with you from Trivandrum to Bombay and then from Bombay to JFK, someone was also going to Canada with you on that flight. I am not sure it’s you.

I was told America was land of opportunity. And it truly is. I never thought I would come to this country. I was fearful as I had never traveled to any foreign country. I had many question for myself such as will I be able to adjust their? how will people behave with a foreigner? Will I make friends? These question had no answer I remember the day I came to United States. I was at Los Angeles Airport looking at new people and listening to them speaking different language, although I was happy I felt nervous as well knowing I will have many challenges to face.

I am a Nigerian immigrant and I lived in Nigeria until I was seven. There are numerous differences between Nigeria, a non-western undeveloped nation, and the U.S. For example, very trivial things like constant electricity, clean water, quality education, and access to quality healthcare are often unavailable or extremely expensive in Nigeria. Though retrospectively, I feel like I was deprived as a child, these things were a reality for me at the time. Fortunately for me, my parents were able to move our family to the United States, more specifically New Jersey, to give my sibling and I better opportunities, and this transition was a very happy time for my family. However, this change was not without hardships. Firstly, I had to adjust to just about everything from the way the classrooms were structured, to the type of semantics used to refer to things.

Life is brimming with challenges and struggles that can either result in triumphant or failure. No one individual is perfect and most face failure before awarded success. My journey to the United States at the age of seven came with more than just the experience of a transcontinental plane ride. The transition from Nigeria to Georgia gifted me with new opportunities and experiences. Enrolling in an American institution for the first time was a life-altering experience but not one without its challenges.

Having come from the countryside of Vietnam in an agricultural community, I did not grow up in luxury. My parents divorced when I was four, leaving my mother alone to raise my younger brother and me. She worked 15-hours a day, every day, in the rice fields to provide for our family of three. My mother was unable to complete her elementary school due to all the calamity in our hometown brought on by the Vietnam War. When I was growing up, education in Vietnam was not free. Due to our financial status, my brother and I were forced to drop out of high school.

I migrated to United States 21 years ago where I met my late husband in Ohio when i came for a visit. I live all alone here in Akron,OH the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the seat of Summit County. It is in the Great Lakes region approximately 39 miles (63 km) south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River.. I am the only child of my both parents and i don't have any siblings. I have a promising career as a self employed hard working woman. I am into interior decoration and i also import and export woods and some other building materials from other countries into the states, i supply them to various individuals and furniture companies at a large quantity and i have a small warehouse. I am very good with hand tools,

The first time I flew was to the United States. I was 18 years old and had no expectation. While we flew for almost 22 hours there was turbulence. it was a horrifying flight and especially scary. i travelled with a girl that I met at the airport that was going to the same house and job with me. We were from completely different backgrounds and didn’t talk for the 28 hours in total traveling time.