What Does It Mean To Be An Immigrant?

Mr. Board Chair... Colleagues and Friends. I am an immigrant. Three years ago, I recounted my story as an immigrant to this great nation, of how I became a successful family physician, and of the great sacrifices by my family and especially my father in helping me to get here. Today, again I stand before you. I 'd like to tell you my story as a digital immigrant. Yes. I am a digital immigrant and like most of you, I was not born with a silver iPad in front of my face. I was able to apply the same immigrant ethics to work and with optimism and resiliency, I am able to successfully adapt to this brave new digital world.

Hello reader, I’m about to tell you a story of some of my life. I am not normally one to volunteer details about myself, which I’ll remain somewhat reserved or completely leave some events out of this autobiography. Nonetheless, I believe I can still make my story interesting for the reader. I was born 1979, in Tampa, Florida; which, is also the same day my biological father decided to leave my mother and I. My mother isn’t a native Floridian, but had moved there with her family when she was still an infant, and had spent most of her life growing up in Florida. Needless to say, my father leaving was not an exciting time for my mother and I. Although she was employed Jimmy Cater was president and had taken the nation into

“Mom, will I ever be treated as a regular person? When will I be like the others without people look at me in a strange way and make fun of me, when mom? When?” Those were the questions I did to my mom almost every day after getting home from school. Fourteen years ago that my parents brought me to this country offering a better life with better opportunities than where I was born. I was seven years old when came to the United States, but I still remember the happiness I felt when I first step in this country. Throughout the years, I have realize that not everything is easy and simple as I imagined. My parents worked in the fields because of the lack of a social security and not knowing how to speak English. Many Americans do not know how hard it is the life of an immigrant, they should have a consideration for us and not just blame us for the deviance of the United States.

My mom helps me with everything. School, pays for my cell phone and car because I go to school. She sets up my doctors’ appointments. She tells me what I do and don’t need. She helps me define myself as a women so I can have kids one day, be a great mother like she is, raise a family, have a nice home, get a job. She helps me with all of these things along with two others, my older brother and my younger sister. My older brother had a full ride to go play football at a college and instead of taking the ACT he went and partied it up the night before and lost his chance of playing. He just had a baby and was living with my parents not too long ago and he’s 22. My mom does her very best everyday to help us all out. She doesn’t have to worry very hard with my sister. She’s a sophomore in college and has never made a B in her life. She’s already getting letters from big schools to go there. My mom is very proud of her as I am too. I’ve put my mom through so much along with my brother. For example, it’s my third semester in college and I’m at my third school. I just wasn’t built with my sister’s brains. I’m here, in college, for my mom. She always says, “Please go do big things. Don’t quit like your father and I did when it came to

“Immigration” a controversial issue that argues two sides, the perspective of Americans and the reality of an immigrant. As a daughter of parents who migrated to the Unites States from El Salvador, I personally believe that immigrants are the correct side from what the Americans see or believe; however, just like anything else there will be two different sides; the good immigrants and the bad immigrants. For example, first, the US has immigrants with different types of crimes committed. Then, we have the issue of jobs with immigrants. Third, an additional issue is the cost of having immigrants that has many questions regarding the benefit. Last but not least, foreign language has been an accommodated at the United States and has been under

Humanity is ever so much more complicated than one could have ever imagined. Humans can thrive on change, but ultimately look for something to declare as home. In search of this home people travel long distances and risk everything they have. When an American contemplates the word immigrant, one imagines the countless people from Mexico crossing into our country or the refugees that hope to make this country their home. What eludes most of us, however, is the reality that most people were, at one point, immigrants to this country and that our forefathers came here exactly the same as refugees come today. What is brought to mind when I hear the word immigrant is hope and perseverance. I remember the countless people who have traveled here

My mom is a very perceptive woman. She’s always had a way of explaining the world and the people within it. It came as a great shock to myself when I learned she was extroverted, as I had always known her to exhibit introverted mannerisms. I had assumed she would be the watchful and quiet one, but she’s usually the life of the party. That’s when I started to ask her about her life. She’s experienced enough things to warrant a jaded perspective of the world, yet she still holds some appreciation. I owe her much more than just giving her a mutual respect and completing my chores. I attribute my perspective on the world to my mom. My personality was shaped from her open mind and helped me find my passions in life. I’ve always had a strong sense of who I am, what I want to do in life. I know that I’ll always be welcomed back to her regardless of any mistakes I may

She never told me how to dress a certain way in order to keep up with the latest fashions. She never told me how to wear my hair in a way that the other girls wouldn't make fun of me for. She never even told me how to apply makeup to my adolescent face. I don't think she ever knew how to put it on herself. My mother was always a simple woman. A brush of mascara, a touch of the gloss, and she was done.

Growing up the child of an immigrant has given me a unique perspective on life that a majority of kids my age will never have. In my home, I am surrounded by the Ethiopian culture and language, but when I step across the threshold, I am greeted by a culture foreign to my own. I was challenged with learning two more languages than most kids, Amharic and Tigrinya, which classified me as a student who needed ESL (English Second Language) classes. My mom always said, “Ewedeshalo yenekonjo”, meaning I love you, my beautiful. I was immersed in two different communities, and had the impression of living in two different countries. I was faced with the difficulty of not knowing where I fit in since I am one of a few kids who have this reality. Balancing

Every time she comes back, my dad tries to talk some sense into her, but my sensitive mother always claims that Dad is a “balloon popper” and doesn’t care about her dreams. When she comes back she always has little sleep and for the few clients she does have, she has tons of work to make up. She’s very cranky when she’s back and stays cranky for days because it takes her that long to make up sleep because she has to work into the late hours of the night to catch up on her actual work. If she stays home for over a week, there might be one time she offers to make dinner, but she always gets distracted and burns something or doesn’t cook something long

Being a descendant of a veteran makes me proud of my family and its history and hardwork and dedication. Makes me proud of my country and where I come from. Helps me have a better appreciation for those who fight for our country. Makes me thankful that they give up so much like being with their family, sleep and being able to come home and take days off of work, so that I can sleep at night peacefully in my bed without having to worry about what is going on outside my house. It means putting trust in my country and everything that it stands for. It means saying that Pledge Allegiance with meaning and understanding on the words that I am saying. Sitting there at the table listening to stories they share about what they have been through, being able to vividly see

In “Immigrants” by Pat Mora, they are struggling to achieve acceptance and help their family have a better future. The parents are trying so hard to associate their children with “American traditions” and still are left wondering if they will be accepted in America. In my opinion nothing is worth loosing your actual culture or values. They are literally willing to do whatever it takes to transform heir children into American traditions. “Feed them mashed hot dogs and apple pie” (Line 2 Mora). Both Hot dogs and Apple pie are both American food and American culture. Wait there is more they are even considering changing the names of their children. Buying them blonde dolls and football cleats both have typical American

It was the 11th, the day that we arrived. My dad and my sister had already made it, and it was really late. My flight landed, and so had 16 others. We off of the flight, and headed straight for immigration. Last time we came, immigration took 5 minutes, but this time, it took 45! After the long immigration process, we went to the baggage belt, where we couldn’t find our bags. While we were walking to go and file a complaint, we found one of our bags off of the baggage belt. Others took our bags off of the belt, so we went around the belt to find the bags. After we found the bags, we headed out of the airport. It was 4 am, and as soon as we got home, we went to sleep. We got up at about nine and got ready to go to my aunt and uncle’s 25th anniversary

At least from what I hear from my mom, she was very strict as a mother, but that isn’t really a bad thing. That just made her kids more enduring and hard working people later in life. Alternatively to her strictness, I have been treated with the utmost niceness by her. She’s always been willing to take care of my brother and me when my mom

It took me eighteen years to spend some quality time with my mother and discover what an incredible journey she has had with my brothers and me. She is the kind of person who has always been very involved with all parts of our daily lives. In fact, she was the kind of mother who always had time for her three sons, worked full-time and had time to devote to community projects too. Her energy and enthusiasm for all of these things seemed endless and she always tried to teach the three of us to see the value in the idea of giving back to the community. I was always glad that she was present at my games and supported me through school, but it took me over a decade to learn what motivated her to be so