The Challenges Of Learning A New Language

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 parents have always been hard workers and dream chasers. They have told me how in their early years they lived in poverty and were determined to never go back to these conditions. Years before I was born, my parents planned to live in the United States. It wasn’t until my older brother finished high school that my parents thought it was the ideal time to move. In the Dominican Republic, good quality of life is only found by the lucky and the wealthy; my parents were well aware of this fact and craved for betterment. This was another reason why my parents wanted to move to the land of opportunities.

My parents Immigrated from Poland to the United States in search for better opportunity for the children that they planned to have. When my parents finally made the move, they started with nothing and no one to turn to; they did not even know how to speak English. All my parents knew for sure was that they were going to raise three children in America and do all they could possibly do to motivate and make them passionate for school. My parents have always wanted their children to achieve the careers of their dreams and be able to support their own family as well as be happy with their lives. My parents have struggled with money their entire lives, which is another reason why they did all they could to get to America and motivate their children for schooling. They did not want their children to struggle with money the way that they did. But this led another issue, affording college. My parents did not have enough money for their children to attend college. Because of this, I have done my best in school to earn outstanding grades and do my best to earn scholarships.

As a first-generation Mexican American, I am the product of two cultures merged into one. Like many immigrants, my parents left behind their homeland and came with just the clothes on their back. They were fish out of water when they first arrived in America. They came here with hopes of pursuing the American Dream but soon realized that they weren't going to be the ones to achieve the American Dream. They worked hard so that my younger brother and I could have a shot at it. So they’ve educated us and passed the Dream along to us. The hardships experienced by my parents have inspired me to take on my own challenges. Because of the sacrifices my parents made, I am where I am today. It's an unspoken responsibility that one day I will give back to those who gave me so much.

Ever since I was a young child, my parents always told me to try my best in school, they always told me this for the reason that they never had the opportunity to have a good job because they never finished school. This event is shaping me to care a lot regarding my education. In addition to that, another event that has shaped me to become the person I am today is that since my parents don’t have good paying jobs they have to work hard to take care of me and my siblings this event has caused me to become a hard working person and to seize all opportunities to live a good life because I don’t want to struggle like my parents.

Being a first generation college student is a heavy load to carry due to the constant reminder of having to be a good role model for my siblings. Children of immigrants are often highly expected to excel in their academics and to be involved in extracurricular activities. His/her parent immigrated to the “Land of The Free” in order to receive a better life and to give their children a place to call home. They work from one to two jobs a week just so that we can dig through the pantry, and raid the refrigerator. We sometimes take our parents for granted unknowingly, and constantly fill our heads with a question that we all seem to ask. “How do I please my parents?”, “What do I have to do to make them happy?”. As students we should all be voicing “College!”. Yes, maybe our folks’s dreams have faded away, however that should be our motivation to aim higher; to achieve our American Dream. Throughout our years of education, our very own relatives and teachers have emphasized on the importance of receiving a higher education. I have come to realize that I should not be asking myself “How do I please my parents?”. Instead, “How do I please myself?”, “What will my lifetime goals be?”, “Will it leave my parents hard work in vain?”. Obtaining a higher education will not impact their lives, but will affect yours drastically. My American Dream has always been to become an immigration lawyer that deals with international relations or to become a professor teaching my true passion for

Being born of 2 immigrant parents, who work menial jobs and have no education has always had its weight on me. Neither one of my parents are high school graduates and no one in my family has obtained a collegiate education. I have been able to experience first hand how difficult a life with no education is. I recall other students sharing how their parents provided aid with their homework and read to them, knowing I did not get to experience that made me gloomy. I had no other choice but to learn everything on my own and then attempt to teach my parents. This peculiar lifestyle has pushed me harder in academics and has given me a genuine appreciation for the value of an education.

My parent’s both have very hard working jobs which have inspired me to work not just hard but to my fullest extent. Money is not the only benefit, but accomplishing my goals and desires are. My mother gets what she can every week cleaning houses in the Redlands, and my father takes two buses, and one train until reaching North Miami six days a workweek. All their sacrifice is for me to have a roof and food at home, this way we can afford our duplex in Homestead. We are a low-income family in Florida who have no other family members but ourselves. Having to adjust to a new community, learning a new culture based on other traditions and an altogether new terminology has been difficult, but overcoming many of these struggles have taught me that one day I will be capable to achieve my ends. I will be helping the community that one day welcomed me, as one of their

My parents moved to the United States when I was a toddler. They had to leave their country because of economic instabilities. They came here to seek opportunities that they could not in Ecuador. They proved to me that you can achieve anything you set your mind to. My ambition in academics is a way of proving to my family that I can accomplish my goals.

Growing up in the US as an immigrant, my childhood was a little different from most people’s. I faced many struggles due to the differences in cultures, social, and economics. However, I was able to overcome all those challenges and become a more humble, responsible, and determined individual because of my ability to adapt quickly, be compassionate, and stay goals-oriented.

My mother immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic at the age of 16, all by herself! I can barely imagine being in college next year, nonetheless, moving to a new country and beginning a new life. As my older brother by 6 years and I would walk past those expensive Jordans in the mall, or stroll by the shiny Mercedes Benz parked on the corner of the street, my mother would promise that good grades and an education could one day afford us these extra facets to life. So believe me, before baseball practice, homework would be done, done

As the child of Mexican immigrants, I am always encouraged to work to the best of my ability because of the sacrifices and struggles my family went through to get where we are today. Too young to remember, I am constantly reminded of the difficulties my family experienced as they attempted to rebuild their lives in a new country with nothing but their clothes on their backs and the few cash they had in their pockets. The place we called home was a shabby, old apartment in a neighborhood where the crime rate seemed as if it doubled in a matter of seconds. At a point in our lives my family begged for pennies to afford medicine from gas stations, and even the dollar store when we fell ill. It was never that we were out of money, but we were just financially unstable. We had a roof over our heads, food on our table, clothes, and even a family car, but my father’s income was not always enough to support the life of a growing family and on top of that, enough to invest in my family’s future.

My parents always encouraged my siblings and I that we were capable of doing anything that we set our minds to. It didn’t matter where or what we wanted to do; all that mattered was if we had the passion to do it and succeed. From that, I was always set on becoming a doctor. It didn’t matter what kind; I just knew I wanted to help people. From a young age, I knew that my parents worked hard so that my siblings and I might have a better life than my parents. Both of my parents came from Vietnam with little to nothing. They both got jobs at Excel before they were twenty, and, after ten years, they met each other and got married. They and bought a motel and restaurant, and managed that for another ten years. They were

My mother was born in Tijuana, Mexico and my father was born in Zacatecas, Mexico. My parents worked very hard to come to the United States, looking for the American dream. They are dedicated to their family and want the best for their children. My parents have not stopped working, always trying to arrange their work schedule with my two siblings and I school schedules. They taught us that the only way to go forward is to work, to put all our best efforts in everything we want to accomplish in life. My father always tells me “exhale ganas,” meaning always do your best, to do what you are doing with feeling. Since the day they dropped me off at the college dorms I knew

Without the support of my father and the drastic change in my life, I understood that the only way to improve my quality of life was to study and find the passion to which I was going to dedicate the rest of my life. After careful thought, I decided to move to the United States. Leaving my family, I came to this country in search of knowledge, contacts and “greater opportunities”. During these years, I have been confronted with many obstacles, but I have been able to resolve them thanks in part to my dedication. When it comes to achieving my goals, I find it in myself to push myself until that goal it met. I consider that there is no lack of opportunities for someone that believes in their capabilities and is aware that nothing comes without sacrifice, meaning that hard work and dedication are required in order to achieve goals.