Personal Narrative: My Parents Coming To The United States

Challenge Essay Moving into The United States that has a different language has been the biggest obstacle that I have ever faced, especially with the fact that there was a time where I didn’t understand a single word of that language called English. This was a big obstacle in my life since I was raised in Mexico where the prime language, there is Spanish and that was the only language I knew back then, it was until the day had come where my family and I had to move into the United States due to the violence that has been happening in Mexico. I consider those times the most difficult ones of my whole life because I had to work triple than what I normally did in school in order for me to learn a huge complex language.

Upon meeting me, not many people know that I am a first generation American. However, they are usually interested in the orgin of my last name. I am in fact Ukranian. Both my parents and my older sister were born in Ukraine. They immigrated to America in 1992 because of religious persecution that they were facing.

Growing up I always knew my mindset was far past my years. The way my mind worked was different and older than those kids around me, so it was no surprise for me to be on my own right from the get go after turning 18. For as long as I can remember I have always done everything by myself especially school related. My parents are Hispanic and speak little English, making me the first person in my family to attend college. My parents brought me to the United States from Mexico at the age of four and I have lived in Oklahoma ever since.

When I moved to America, I was never accepted. People looked at me like I was dirt. They loathed my honey colored skin. This is my story; you will learn the chainman’s side of the exclusion act. White people believed we stole their jobs.

Not in a million years would I have thought I would ever move from my neighborhood in India to another house, let alone another country. If you would have come up to me and said I was moving, I probably would've just laughed at you, blinded by my obliviousness. But sure enough, one day, and I did not see this coming, my mother told me we were moving to the USA. Just out of the blue, no warning, just bam! Luckily for me, I was near a sofa when I heard this news, so I fell down on the sofa, not the ground.

Note: I interviewed Ms. Yuki, a Japanese lady who lived at the senior housing place where my sisters and I perform music monthly. This interview allowed me to hear a first-hand account of a person’s life in Japan during World War II. A few of my ‘questions’ are not really questions; they are my thoughts when listening to Ms. Yuki’s answers. My questions are italicized and Ms. Yuki’s answers are in regular type and indented. I really enjoyed this assignment!

Growing up in an immigrant household in America, was difficult. I didn’t live, I learned to adapt. I learned to adapt to the fact that I did not look like any of my peers, so I changed. Adapted to the fact that my hair texture would never be like any of my peers, so I changed. Adapted to the fact that I was not as financially well off as my peers, so I changed.

Coming to America with my parents when I was about 11 years old was a new adventure for me. There were a lot of changes that needed to be made and experiencing new things. I would have to make some adjustment and getting used to the American culture and learning the language they speak. My parents had made a big sacrifice coming to America. Living their home country just so my siblings and I could get a better education and better life.

When I reached America, I started to remember my childhood. I was the youngest of 4 children. I had a sister and two brothers. We were all crammed into a small hut. We all slept on one blanket on the floors made of cow poop.

Right when I woke up, I jumped out of my bed and just remembered in my mind that I’m immigrating to america. I was excited like those 10 monkeys jumping on the bed, but I felt sad because I had to leave my friends and family at Israel. I went on a horribly boring car trip to the airport. I

Career Summary Paper My Father came to the United States about 40 years ago he came as an immigrant his whole Entire life he worked to get where he wanted to be .20 years later he did. He got his papers and brought My Mother and Brothers to America. I was Blessed to be Born here where I got a great education and support.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if the world was completely submerged in water today? How would you feel if your racial background dictated whether or not you were rescued? Even worse, what would you do if it dictated if you lived or died today? These are some questions that are present when hurricane season comes around every year. In todays society these are things that we should not have to consider since this is a forward moving generation.

When my aunt first told me that we were going to America, I was both excided and sad at the same time. I was sad because I hated to leave my country and friends that I had had from childhood. Those friends were always there for me whenever I needed them, and going to new country and making know friends was hard for me. One of the most painful moments for me, was seeing my father cry when I told him that my aunt was going to take us to America.

My journey has not been easy to accomplish. I returned to school at the age of 48, I successful graduated from Tidewater Community college and received my associates in Human services. When I returned to school In Aug 2010 I was homeless, the first year with three older children, I eventual moved into my friends converted garage, where I lived with my sons. In Jan 2013, I moved into my own place until with the help of my youngest

Some people realized that we were struggling and helped us. My husband 's aunt brought us some of her used furniture for our bare room to help us get started, and I went to this church for canned goods. I was not ashamed of asking for help. Slowly, we got some money saved up and we could afford daycare, so we both started working day jobs. My college degree came to the rescue, and I got a job at a bank as a teller.