Imagine the stress and the hardships of being a refugee and moving to a completely different country. Mawi Asgedom was a refugee starting at age three, and he had to start a whole new life in America. In Mawi Asgedom’s book, Of Beetles and Angels, the Asgedom family lived in a refugee camp in Sudan, but they moved to America because they wanted a safe haven from the wars. They felt that America was a paradise where everyone had things like big houses and fancy cars. That was not the case, however, and many challenges were waiting for them when they arrived. Mawi was determined to do well in school so he could help his family, and he eventually got offered a full-ride scholarship to Harvard University for academics. During Mawi’s life he overcame a lot of obstacles such as bullying, financial issues, and deaths, which motivated him to always do his best.
Mawi had to deal with the wrath of bullies. He faced intense bullying starting on the first day of school in America, but he was encouraged to still do his best. Mawi’s father, Haileab, said: “‘SO FROM NOW ON, LET THEM HIT YOU. COME HOME BEATEN AND BRUISED. DO NOT EVER FIGHT
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His beloved father and brother passed away at a young age, and Mawi did not know how to handle this. Even though Mawi faced death in his family, it only motivated him more to try his best. “I almost abandoned my dreams of becoming a top student and earning a scholarship. But I loved my family too much to give up. And I knew that my brother Tewolde never would have given up. I knew that the way to honor him best was to take myself even higher” (113). After the death of his brother, Mawi almost gave up on his dream of being a top student because he was devastated over Tewolde. He realized that Tewolde would want him to keep on going because it would help out his family. There is no doubt that the death of Tewolde crushed Mawi, but it also encouraged him to work to his fullest