Personal Narrative: Moving To A Country

I moved to America when I was nine years old. Even though I did not know any alphabet, I gradually got used to the new environment. Soon, I got pleased about being able to live in America. I especially liked the atmosphere there. For example, when I went to a store, I noticed that everyone was so friendly to others.

When I was 10 years old I moved to Chile that is very far away from the United States. It was hard to maintain contact with my friends from California. I would talk on the phone with them everyday but as the days passed by our phone calls shortened and started to be once a week,then once a month to never again. I tried to rebuild our friendship but it just wasn 't the same. As much as I tried to make it work the distance was just too much for both me and my friends.

My parents and I moved to the Dominican Republic when I was thirteen years old. Living there as a young American came with many challenges. One of the biggest threats against foreigners is violence. Within my first years of living in Dominican Republic, I had experienced two incidents at it firsthand. The first incident happen a week before school began, I was mugged by two assailants; man on a motorcycle and another man on foot.

My life took an interesting turn when my mother told me I would be moving to a different country, fear took over my body because that meant I would have to start from zero. On January 1st, 2011 my mom gave me the exciting news that her fiancée, now husband, had started the process to bring her to the United States so she could become a permanent resident, live with him, form a family and start a brand new life. I remember her face blighting up to every time she spoke a word but that smile faded once she told me I could not come with at that time because of the expense of the process. I understood why she could not bring me with. We had economic and emotional issues going on.

When I first moved to Mexico I was 15 years old; I had everything in D.R, friends, family, and sport, a life I really enjoyed and was really happy with it. I had always thought I was going to spend the rest of my life in my home country, since I was born there, but I guess I was wrong. I didn’t make it a big deal because I knew I was still going to be with my family, and family is everything. It was my first time going to Mexico and have a completely different lifestyle so I was pretty nervous. As soon as I arrived Mexico, I was completely shocked; All I saw were buildings everywhere; I was used to seeing land everywhere and animals right in front of my house.

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.

Day 2 Immigrant. That word gives me a label here. I am crossing the border to the U.S because my parents think it will give us a new beginning and a better life. I think they’re wrong. Our life in El Salvador was fine: We had a nice house and we were healthy.

My mind takes me back to a time when I woke up to the aroma of food from street vendors through the homes that sit in a tightly compacted neighborhood. I remember growing up as a young boy in an area referred to as “La Laguna” in Mexico. This city was dry in rainfall levels and hope, my family were in the pursuit of an improved standard of living when they decided they wanted to move to the United States. Temporary living on the border made it tempting to go across a bridge and never come back. I saw America as elysium and Mexico as fool’s paradise, where the violence was rare and financial stability was so common.

As I heard my grandparent’s conversation I came to realize what was going on. It was time to be with my mom. I felt excited but at the same time scared, It feels like it was just yesterday. Two days later I found myself packing. I packed everything that’s when I came to realize what was truly happening.

While gazing at the stars on a beautiful winter night, I received a phone call. It was mother. Whimpering, she said "will you please come to the living room. " My mind racing of a million thoughts, "what did I do?" "I hope I 'm not in trouble."

You need to think about something you can be. You’re good with your hands- making things. Everybody admires your carpentry shop work. Why don’t you plan on carpentry? People like you as a person- you

I have had plenty of key events in my life. One of the most important was when I moved from India to Canada. As my dad earned a job in Canada our whole family needed move to India .The people and culture were so unique that I learned a lot about it. Experiencing the different society of people made me realize how diverse Canada is.

My family has always been very united but one day my dad emigrated to America, I was 5 years old and missed him a lot because I thought he was missing out so many important events of my childhood and all the new things I was going through, but he would always tell me that one day I would come to America and I remember I would get very content about it but as I was growing up I was making new friends, meeting new people and “living life” that I forgot about the idea of coming to America. As years were passing by, my family began to tell me that I had to enjoy every second in my country since it was probably my last year in Honduras and I believed it at first but then it never happened so I was so busy with school that I never thought the day would come. It was July 31, 2013, when I realized that the day my family and I has been waiting for had come.

Moving to a new country can be difficult sometimes. Leaving all my relatives and friends back home was the saddest thing for me. My mother told me that we were moving to a new country. At first, I thought my mother was joking about it. but little did I know that she was telling the truth.

With great despair I am writing this to you from a faraway country that I have moved to. How is Japan? Is everyone doing okay? I turned into a complete fool, it feels like I have no purpose in life and must harbor my feelings. Dreading to come home, I miss my homeland very much and being around people I love.