Speech: The Claddagh Ring

brother this past summer when we went to Disneyworld. I t was one of the best days of my life and one I

Moving is not fun whether it is changing houses, cities, and of course states. Having to throw all your belongings into giant cardboard boxes, having to help wrap all the dishes in the entire house with bubble wrap, and watching all your furniture slowly disappearing from the house can drive you mad. Especially if you just turned seven years old and are moving from your home town of Nashville, Tennessee to the bustling city of Atlanta, Georgia.

Since 2012, I have moved 3 times. The first move was definitely the hardest of all the moves. My entire life was turned upside down right before high school. I was happy to move, but it was a complete change. I had to relearn how to live, and I suddenly had to be the one to care for my younger siblings.

It was less than a second, maybe half a second, but it changed everything. It was late at night after a soccer game. I was laying down in my room, coloring in a picture book, when my parents called me downstairs. After my sister and I walked downstairs, we were told to sit on the couch. Apparently my parents had something important to tell us, i didnt really realize what was going to happen because I was younger, so I sat on the couch smiling widely.

The only time I remember vividly was the car ride home. Slowly driving, my mom being

The Irish experience in the U.S. was harsh. They fled Ireland due to the Potato Famine, and arrived here for opportunity, and even more importantly, a better life. They were also exceedingly poor, so that being

Álainn, which means beautiful in Irish. Even though I haven’t been to Ireland, I have seen pictures, and it is beautiful country. I am Irish because of my dad’s ancestors who came to America in the late 1800’s. The countries weather is amazing compared to what I have. In Ireland there is a plenty of things to do during the day. My family celebrates some of the Irish holidays, but we don’t do any of their customs. I was so excited to learn about the culture and the life of the Irish.

family get together that I was lucky enough to attend. Instantly I knew that there was something

There were two distinct groups in the Irish community. There were the Roman Catholic Irish and the Protestant Irish based on their faith it divided the Irish community. It was such an

Moving from a house to another is pretty difficult for most people, for me, it was more of moving from a continent to another.Four years ago, I moved from  Iraq to the U.S.A. for a better life, a life that is full of opportunities.I had to make sacrifices in all kinds of ways.January 17th, I said my goodbyes and left behind my friends and most of my family members.The goodbyes were very sad and difficult, but moving to a place to start my life from the scratch was possibly the biggest intimidating change.

I remember the exact feeling that came over me when I first heard very clearly. My mom then came in from another room and was extremely pale. Her eyes were as watery as a flooded river during a storm. I saw her, and she saw me. We both, crying like babies, had a long and love-filled embrace in the middle of my house. I am not going to go into detail about everything else that happened, but no more than two hours after that moment my mom and I were in a car on the way to the airport to fly to England. This was one of the hardest plane rides I have ever had to experience. When we arrived to my mom's hometown, Liverpool, an array of sorrow and sadness filled the air. On the other hand, there was also a huge feeling of love. I felt a deep connection with every one of my family members. We were all together, and nowhere else would we rather have been at that time. We went on to grow so much closer as a family.

For a short time in Ireland many were faced with a hard decision due to the struggling with starvation in a time of famine. With this hardship many made the difficult choice to leave their country and seek refuge in the United States. The individual that I interview had family that lived in County Cork, Ireland and they decided to make the journey to the United States in hopes of a better life. Her Grandparents came to the United States through New York and changed their last name by dropping the prefix to make it more American. They moved to Cleveland and her grandfather was able to find work at chief Boyardee to support his family. Many traditions have been passed down from generation to generation. Celebration St. Patrick’s day was always an important day for this family. This was a time to eat traditional Irish food, music, and Irish folk dancing. The catholic faith is very important aspect of this

In my case I moved thousand of miles from my country, Pakistan. The differences are unimaginable.

Arriving to my cousin house i seen alot of my family members even the ones that was from out of town. We greeted eachother and

e) Finally, this might be last chance to have some kind of control over their circumstances.