Personal Narrative: My Life In The US

Today I will be talking about the first time I came to America and how it has changed my life. When I was five years old, I started first grade in Turkey. I was afraid because my parents signed me up late and I thought I wouldn’t be able to make friends. Both my parents came with me for the first day of school and I made them wait outside of my classroom because they couldn’t come inside the classroom. The first time I entered class, all the kids were with their friends and the teacher had assigned me in between two girls.

By all means; the Imperfect Mexican-American When I was younger, I couldn't fathom what my parents meant when they said ‘‘Cruce la frontera para que tengan una mejor vida,’’ In other words, I crossed the border for my children to have the future they longed for; their American dream. I understood the troubles and sacrifices they went through and felt the pain they carried for leaving their motherland, yet I didn't understand what life they were looking for me and my sisters. Years later, one afternoon, my sister greets us with the news that she got accepted to college, I thought this is it, the better life my parents wished for us, the sacrifices they made are paying off, yet to my surprise what was suppose to be proudness turned out to be

Something that I’m both thankful for and sadden by because now I embrace both cultures whole heartedly and notice the beauty within them every day; and surprisingly so has the

Anxiety, it’s the feeling that came over me when I arrived at the airport to come to America. I was born in Brasil, it was my home. So boy was I shocked when I heard that we were moving to the United States, and I was only six years old. My parents thought we would have a better life here in America because, with all the “opportunities” it offered, it was the place to be. My father flew over one month before I was scheduled to; he planned on getting everything situated by finding a job and a place for us to live.

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.

I was raised under a belt held by my father. To this day I can still recall the days I witnessed my father 's abuse to my family physically and emotionally. My family was tightly gripped by my father; which resulted to my sisters and I fearing him as we grew up. As a child, I was the one who got hit the most.

As a teenager moving to a new country with a different culture, different language, and being thousands of miles away from everyone I grew up with was not an easy change, however, that was precisely what I did in January of 2013 when I came to the United States with my father. My whole world changed since, and shaped my way of thinking. From learning English, adjusting to a new culture, experiencing my first snow and finding my way in my new country, my life has been an exciting adventure. My parents brought me to America almost 5 years ago to have a better life, and to get a better education.

Being exposed to these different types of people has prepared me for relations with people unlike me in the future. I believe that my experiences with those of different cultures will lead me to be a successful cadet at the Academy. When my family moved to a post in the year of 2011, my environment drastically changed. The military post of West Point introduced me to new friends of many religions, races and cultures. My fellow sixth graders taught me that everyone was unique and that every culture was special.

The first eight years of my life, I spent in India where I was born. Growing up I was constantly reminded by my parents that I needed to make them proud by getting a good job and living a good lifestyle. They told me this because they did not want to see me live a hard life like they did. When I was nine years old, I moved from India to the United States of America. The reason why I moved to America was not because I was living a bad life in India, it was so that I could have a better education and more opportunities in life.

I used to have this grudges in my heart when everything go hard that would made me wanted to blame my parent. But I can’t because I was not raise to think that way. When I come to America, I was eleven years old and no one asked me if I wanted to come it just happen in a second. I was in a cold place with extended family that I never met before and that one person who raise me and made me feel secure was still back in the country. I had to lived months without her and next thing you know I adapted and convince myself they are doing this because the wanted the best for me.

It has been three years, yet I learn something new about the culture every day. Even if a person is from a different culture, the culture he/ she is brought up in or is living in can have certain amount of influence on molding the

Travelling around a lot through out my life has taught me importance of embracing other cultures, from living in Australia on two separate occasions to excursions in the impoverished Dominican Republic. This has made me more open-minded, tolerant and overall a well-rounded individual. The ability to speak Czech and Russian fluently has permitted me to build bridges between two different cultures and become more culturally diverse. Having a global perspective has allowed me to be culturally sensitive; I deem this is essential when working with clients and respecting their cultural background whilst conveying their culturally specific events.

Up until now, I have had very little cross-cultural experience in the course of my life. Beginning with the fact that both of my parents are Dutch and the fact that I grew up here, made me a fully Dutch citizen, both in terms of origin and education. I am born and raised in a small village in the Netherlands, called Bodegraven. My parents have not provided me with a cross-cultural background as they both grew up on Dutch farms. However, they took me on holidays to several countries in Europe and to Canada and America once.

This way of life has molded my perception of different cultures and has given me insights on how to handle cultural barriers. The way I embrace difference and handle cultural barriers is a quality that I am very proud of. I have witnessed firsthand

The First thing I want you to know about me is that I was born in the Philippines. My family and I migrated here in the United States when I was 11 years old. At first, I was very scared that I’m going to be culture shock but I’m glad I did not experience that. I adapt the American culture very quick.