Growing up in Indonesia, it was very tough because my parents did not have great jobs and couldn’t provide food to the table every day but they worked and tried their hardest. Everyone in Indonesia dreams of coming to America because it is the land of opportunities, however, coming to America is not an easy process. In Indonesia, there wasn’t a public school system so the only form of education was through private school, which was highly inaccessible to many due to the high costs. Luckily, I received the opportunity to come to the United States and I never took that for granted because I saw how bad conditions can really be in less fortunate countries. I arrived to the states when I was 5 and enrolled in elementary school. On my first day of school, I was terrified because I knew no English, everyone looked different, and I didn't know anyone. It was very hard to make friends because I didn't understand what they said and I couldn't communicate with them. …show more content…
My impression of America was awful and I wanted to go back home. To solve the issue, I would stay after school for about an hour every day, learning vocab words for about 2 months with my teacher. In addition, I taught myself other words by reading books and signs or wherever there was writing. After months of misery and frustration, my vocabulary began to expand until I was finally comfortable enough to talk with others. As a result, I was able to make friends and eventually excel in English after a year or two of school, amazingly, up to the point of Honors and AP English classes. My parents always told me how lucky I am to be in America and have an education here, but I didn’t understand why. Now, I abide by that every day and I am truly grateful. Coming to America has been the greatest thing for me and overcoming the language barrier has been the biggest obstacle I have ever