I want to start my story before I was even born. My dad came to the United States but my mom was still in the Philippines. Then when I was born in the Philippines, my mom took care of me for five years while my dad was working a minimum wage job in the U.S., trying to earn enough money to send both my mom and I to the United States so we could all have a better life, one where we could prosper more due to the opportunities that the U.S. provides. I grew up going to a public school from kindergarten to 5th grade where I met people of different races. When I was in school being in ESL (English as a Second Language) exposed me to even more people of color such as Mexicans, Middle Eastern people, Turkish people, Latinos, and other Asian people.
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.
My parents immigrated from Mexico to the United States. In the year of 1996, my mother, Olga Arroyo, conceived me, her only child. For the most part of my childhood, we were a wonderful family. However, once I entered sixth grade, I noticed my parents constantly arguing. This never ended until my father, Daniel Arroyo, became violent.
I came to Canada a year ago. As a new emigrant I faced many challenges, that has changed my life. When I arrived with my family in Canada, my parents had a small deposit that just supported us, as a family, for a few months. After that, my parents could not find job due to lack of English proficiency. Canada’s government help us with a small amount of money that helped us to live.
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.
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 parents moved from Colombia to the United States before I was born. I am apart of the first generation in my family that was born here. My parents moved with the single hope of giving me a better life with more opportunities. Having this background has definitely impacted my life in both trivial and meaningful ways. For instance, my father not being able to break through the language barrier has been an integral part of my lifestyle.
As the crow flew across the sky, I felt a thick breeze of wind hit me in the face, I heard several voices talking a language I'd never heard before. I was born in southern Europe, and everyone around me was just another figure. I saw men, women, and tiny children, looking like they had been starving for quite some time. I, however did not look much different, but I guess it is the thought of more people starving than just myself. I am 14 years old, I was born in 1877, my parents have been separated from me, and my little brother just died.
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.
Immigration a strong word that defines and that my family express there feelings to. At the age of 3 I was just a little girl running around the house in my dipper playing with my older brother. I do not clearly remember what happen even though I was present I had to ask my mom about it. Both of my parents migrated from Mexico to the United States when they where around 17-19 years old in 1990. My parents met in the United States a year after, my mom got pregnant by my dad and had my older brother by September 1992 and 2 years later I was born.
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.
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.
Parents have an enormous influence on the way their child acts, thinks and is perceived by others, and if there is anyone who is doubtful of this- I am walking proof. The two people who raised me have molded me into the person that I am and will be. From a young age, children become aware of seemingly little things that stay with them whether they like it or not. In my case, I wondered about how my parents could not attend my concerts like all my friends’ parents could, or how they were not able to help me with my homework. I was always jealous of others who did not have these thoughts stuck in their head- just as the thought of a stalled task clings to the mind, only coming forth when it starts to be forgotten.
First generation immigrants sacrifice their adulthood in search of a better life for their family and for future generations to come. My father came from Peru to support his family. He was the first person in his family to come to America. He works in road construction from morning until night so that my family is supported. The desire to repay both of my parents is the belief that guides my life.
Many things have inspired my life, but I feel extremely lucky that I came from a family of immigrants. My Mom, Dad, and their families immigrated from Cuba fleeing Castro's harsh regime and looking for a better way of life. My Mother arrived in Chicago in the late 60's, the Civil Rights Act had recently been passed, and discrimination and restlessness was still about. She not only faced the tough language barrier, but tells me stories of how she dealt with bigotry and bullying in school. On the other hand, my Father immigrated in 1980 via the Mariel Boatlift.