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I am going to talk about how my family and I found our way to the United States of America. Though it was a fairly recent event it somehow links to the past of American history and how the Pilgrims came to a new country where to their great surprise, had already inhabitants. The Native Americans became more and more prevalent as the Pilgrims migrated further and further into the new land. The journey that the pilgrims made to get here is almost synonymous to that of my own. My short life story started when I was just fifteen years of age, where my small family of three found out that we were about to go to America and be reunited with my father in the United States. At first I was so excited of the news,but this excitement was quickly follow by the realization of what I will leave behind, a land that allowed me to live 15 happy years. I was also skeptical about the second home land country, and the questions on whether or not I’ll forever live for the rest of life until I past away and will our lives be comfortable from day to day danced vividly in my head. But I reassured myself that this must be done and I must leave my old family in Vietnam for and to join my new family in America.
The first thing that I found difficult after I stepped onto American soil, is probably utilizing the new language so that somehow the American people might understand what I’m talking, asking, and responding to them. There were a lot of pressures of adapting to new life style, culture, and the differences of the climate, environment changes from two seasons into exactly four seasons over here in America. Also a demanding of speaking English where most of the ninety-five percent of the people or population communicating with each others. Is just like I’m living two separate lives, one at home and one at school, that sometime I get confuse of who am I, and I think is a big challenge that I’m still trying to overcome.
It all started when I came to the United States six years ago and I had no idea what kind of life that the United States and American tradition have. I personally at first I think life in America was complicated, people seem really strange, this probably stems from the fact that I did not have a clear understanding of what people were saying. At the time I arrived at Los Angeles airport, part of me felt very happy because I am off to a new country where I will be seeing, learning, and experiencing new things. Coming to America has been one of my untouchable dreams and for most of people who wanted a better education and better opportunity on this promising land. A few minutes later, however, I felt afraid, and I asked myself, " Why had I come to this strange part of the world and what am I doing here?" My mind just went blank and clueless because of the fact that I left my homeland and started a new life in the United States. Living a new life without knowing anything and not even speaking a single word of English is just horrible, terrified and miserable life to live. After I came here a few days, my aunt began to fill out application for me to go to school, because she afraid that I might fall behind in school, if I’m not registered and goes to school right away. Besides that, most of my aunt started to shopped new clothes for me to wear to school.
First, it is really difficult for me to sleep because the time is different. The time zone is totally opposite from each other, day time in Viet Nam will be night time here. Instead it is time for me to sleep in Vietnam, it is morning in here and that’s the time for me to get to school in America. When I came to class, I almost felt asleep because I rarely have any good night sleep because I’m still trying adapting and changing the time to go sleep to American times. For a couple of weeks that I attended school I felt really tired and just want to go home and get rest, but I’ve tried so hard to stay awake, so I can focus on my learning. It was my first day at this new school and I don’t have to wear any uniform and that was the only one thing that I love the most for being a new student to this new school and country. When I walked into the class, I felt very scared, because all of the students sitting there are strange to me and beside that I don’t even know anything. My face start turning red and begins to ask myself how can I communicate with these people and how am I going to understand to even a single word if the teacher asks me to do something. As I walked I found an empty space, so I sat there next to a Korean student, I guess. As Mrs. Anderson lectured to the entire class, I couldn’t even understand anything she was saying. I knew that it was hard for me and many students like me to be in a new world without knowing anything. But despite I was the lucky one that year, because I had a Vietnamese translator teacher who helped me of explaining what Mrs. Anderson were saying this whole time. His name was Mr. Tran and he helped me with everything I didn’t know and understand. In several months, my English started getting better and I started to make friends with other students, had same classes with, including these Hispanic students as well. It was good for me that I had made friends with many people because I could learn a lot of things from them. The more friends I had the more chances for me to speak and help myself with a new my language.
For as long as I can remembered, during my junior year, I knew my English was getting better, so my friends and I started to join as many clubs as we could, and the more beneficial things toward my life, because I could learns more when I joined more clubs. But that was not the only thing that I decided to do, I also wanted to play sports after school with my friends too. Like, playing some sports maybe can help or either boost some energy to power into my head and body, really make me feel comfortable and I thought of joining some clubs, doing other kind of activities after school or something that good for my body and health, because I had a good time of enjoying it. After having a great summer hangout with my friends at the beach, playing some sports, like volleyball, badminton, and ride bike. My friends and I, we got to head back to our home and started preparing for a new school as a senior two weeks before a new school season start. Entering into my senior year, the last year of high school, I knew this was my last year and it meant that I needed to study hard like my friends do. It was the last chance for me to do really good work in high school, but it didn’t mean that I couldn’t join clubs or do other fun activities with my friends. But suddenly, I heard the news from my mother which said that my grandfather just passed away because of his colon cancer. That day I felt like the whole world is falling upon me, because the one I loved the most just pass away and joining with the rest of other my ancestors in heaven. I knew, not only I felt sad if loosing someone that so close and dearly to me, but I felt happy for him as well, because I don’t want my grandfather to suffer any more pains that he has before. I remembered the day that I still lived in Vietnam; he always told me to studies hard when I get the United States and remembered to calls him when I have the time. Every time I have a cup of jasmine tea, and it reminds me of grandfather a lot, because we usually sat around at the table every morning to drink tea and enjoy the rising sun in the morning. Now, even though I don’t drink tea anymore, but I can still remember the smell of the dark and rich jasmine tea that my grandpa used to make.
Since I’m not new to this world anymore, I seem to adapt and blend in with the community and friends here. After I graduated from high school, I applied to a community college and started to look for a part time job. As week by week pass by, I try and try for almost two months to get a job to work in a restaurant or in any kind of mall as a sale clerk, but my luck is bad. I waited and waited for so long. Finally, one day while I was eating a sandwich in a coffee shop all by myself, a friend of my pass by and she recognizes me, so I invited her to join me, we talk and talk and she asks me if I have a job yet. I said no, so she said that her place is still hiring and if I’m still looking for work. I immediately said okay, because I really need a job real bad, so I can help my mom out by giving some of my pay check to pay the rent, and for my car insurance as well. After a few days, her manager called me an interview and later that day she called me and said that I can start working on Sunday morning. I was really happy because it was my first job ever and I just want to earn my own money and that I don’t have to beg for my mother money anymore. And that’s just a part of my life ended my first fifteen years in my birth country and the story of my life is continuing with a new chapter, the chapter of my life in America and for the later years as long as I can live on this earth, with family, kids and grandkids….