Reflective Essay: Integrating Myself To American People

The film; American Me is an epic depiction of 30 years of Chicano gang life in Los Angeles, California. The movie focuses on the life of a 1950s teen named Montoya Santana, who forms a gang with his close friends. The gang is arrested for a break-in, and sentenced to time in juvenile hall. Santana finds trouble on his first night in juvenile hall and goes from juvenile hall to prison for 18 years. There he created and led a powerful gang that operated both inside and outside the prison. When released from Folsom Prison, he tries to make sense of the violence in his life, in a world that has changed greatly. Inspired by a true story, the film provides a fictionalized account of the founding and rise to

One thing was certain - I could count on was the advice of my family. Coming from a closely knit community, family support was a surety. They provided the support needed to my many cousins who embarked on this journey before me. No matter what doors being a Hamptonian was about to open, I could never forget them. Their sheer determination to see me succeed at anything I put my mind to provided me with enough motivation for the mission.

There are many significant parts of my life that have had a huge impact on my personality, but there is one that has not only affected me, but has changed me for the better. My personal life changing experience was coming to America. For me, this bridge between my old life and new life is a shaky bridge that I attempted to cross and entered a whole new realm of life which changed everything. The decision about coming to America has taught me how to respect other people, be more responsible, and be more loving towards various friends and families. It has also helped me adapt to the new life that I’m about to begin. It was so unexpected. Out of nowhere my parents broke the news: “We’re going to America!” Living in a big town of Bhopal,

that he is to be wed to a woman he has never met before. This is a custom that

An American is someone who doesn't rely on others for their individual happiness. Someone with the freedom to independently make decisions towards becoming a better person without conforming to society's standards/sentiments. Americans have equal rights no matter where they come from. “Of every hue and caste I am, of every rank and religion... I resist anything better than my own diversity,” (Whitman) Walt Whitman is saying that no matter the color of your skin, your rank/wealth in society, or your religion, you are just as equal as everybody else. We are all so different and diverse yet so equal. Although we are equal, we cannot rely on one another for our own happiness. “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in

Many mornings i would wake up to the mouth watering smell of Sancocho, a traditional latin hot stew with chicken, carrots, plantains, corn and potatoes.Loud Bachata would be playing in the kitchen as my mother cooked. The warm,rolled and cascading sounds of the guitar filled the house . “Llora guitarra llora!!” my silly father would say scream off the top of his lungs, enjoying the music as he read the morning paper and family would all laugh at the comment.

My name is Angela S. Baez, and you can call me Angela. I am from the Dominican Republic. In this essay I would like to tell you a story about my experience in coming to the USA. I was very happy when I found out my daughter and I received full residency status from the USA. We would be moving to New York City Sometimes, I felt nervous, because it was my first time to go to another country, which used a different language than my country. I also had to leave my family for a long time. However, I tried to keep strong and calm. I knew it was a good choice to move to the U.S.

I have chosen essay topic number three. Describe a time when you realized something was not as it seemed and how it affected you.

I grew up in the bustling city of Lagos, then moved to the small town of Benin City, Nigeria, then to inner city New Jersey, and finally to suburban Texas. In this time I have developed a more nuanced worldview that enables me to empathize with people in different situations. Furthermore, I have also become exposed to the different sides of healthcare. Ten years ago, my left knee gave out from under me. Fearing medical costs, my mother diagnosed it as a simple dislocation. There was no indication of lingering damage until three years later when the knee gave out again with a sharp pain. This pain persisted for months, but my parents’ distrust in the quality of treatment of complex health problems in Nigeria forced me to learn to deal with it.

This novel has only increased the knowledge I have already for the immigrants that migrant to this country. All of the sacrifices humans make day in and day out to make sure their families are in a better place than their homeland. I also went through a similar experience as the Garcia sisters. Living a wonderful life in my homeland of Honduras, parents were both college graduates working in their respected professions. Oppressed by the struggles of living a life where we feared every time we stepped out of our homes. Having been kidnapped and told there would be no tomorrow unless your family pays up the ransom. Brought us to the United States of America. Living a totally different lifestyle, unlike many went from having so much to struggling to make ends meet. Fights after school with kids trying to bully me and just trying to adjust to the new surroundings. Their story definitely hits home a hard way for me.

Assimilating into the American culture is an arduous challenge. English is my second language, I struggled through language barriers. Throughout elementary school, kids developed callous nicknames for me such as “Muslim terrorist” and “Gandhi” because I spoke in an accent and I was the only Punjabi kid in my class. Since all of my bullies were Mexican, I determined that all other Mexican kids would choose to discriminate against me. I decided to avoid interaction with the other students, which made it harder for me to learn English. I would spend most of my time alone sitting on a bench because I was hesitant of what new nicknames the other kids might devise. However, I wasn’t the only troublesome child who was facing bullying on that bench.

Although through the trial and hardships, from 1492 to 1877 the core of the American identity, the frontier had a constant presence through the years, but through the founding of Jamestown and Plymouth, the American Revolution, Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin’s virtues, letters, Abolitionist, such as William Garrison, Fredrick Douglas, and the civil war, the definition of American identity as the ‘frontier’, grew and developed into something that defines what it means to be an American.

Being something or someone extraordinary is always cooler. I hope to be better at a lot of things. I want to get A’s and B’s this whole year. Athletically, I want to play football. Socially, I want to make new friends and keep the friends I have now. I hope to be a better person as a whole this year.

Before I stepped out of my house I remember Hero walking out in front of me, nagging about traveling alone. I scoff and proclaim “Benedick who?”- That is right, I do not need a man to travel by my side, attending to my every need and ‘protecting me’. I have planned out my journey from start to finish, allowing for enough time to immerse myself in Tibetan culture. With some persuasion Hero finally allowed me to depart for the airport with just enough time to make my flight. As I go through security I notice that all the people working at TSA are all men, they stare me down as if I were some criminal, how dare they. Every interaction with a ‘man’ puts me in a position in which I must show that I am as strong or stronger then them. As finish up going through security I hear a faint voice over the loudspeaker- “ Air China flight 1345 now ready for boarding”, quickly I get to my gate just in time to board. My assigned seat was 5A, an aisle seat because I wanted extra legroom since the flight was long.After what seemed like hours we finally started our descent. Over the people next to me I could make out beautiful mountain ranges that looked like they went for miles upon miles.

Learning English for me has been a hard journey. Born in Mexico City, both of my parents were Mexican. My father came from a medium low socio economical background, but he made his way up and became a lawyer (very smart and with great aspirations), my mother even though she was smart, her family circumstances caused her to forgo a higher education. Both Spanish speakers, they never thoroughly learned a 2nd language; they tried to learn English (father) and French (mother) but they never seriously pursued it, so their knowledge of other languages was basic. Reading and writing was well modeled at my home, books were everywhere as were open doors to good private education. Both of my parents were world travelers, so learning a language was really encouraged and an asset in my household. At the age of 3, my father registered me in a German preschool, so I did pre-kindergarten there. I just remember to singing “guten morgen fraulen” every morning. By the age of 4, my father decided to change me to a new school so I went to a British English bilingual school, where 75% of the day was fully English Immersion. English language was highly valued at school as well as in my country and learning English was seen as a precondition for access to higher jobs. (J.Long 2011)