Premium Essay

Personal Narrative: My First Coming To The United States

Submitted By
Words 752
Pages 4
When I first came to United State I was completely lost, the place was one strange world to me. The place as unfamiliar, the language sounded funny and food looked wired. Everything in my life was new and different. When I got to school it got even weirder like those kind of dream where you know we are dreaming but can’t seem to wake up from it. I saw colored people and brown people and white, all of them spoke a different language. On my first day of school I was approached by a Spanish councilor, she asked me something in Spanish and I was frozen staring at her face like I don’t know what you are talking about. I wanted to tell her that but she wouldn’t understand me so she looked at my papers and called this student who was from Nepal also. …show more content…
It was a kid channel that was on from 6 in the morning till 6 at night. I would get up early an watch few show and got to school then come back and watch more shows till 6 then do homework. I knew I was learning when I was watching those shows. The way they talk and the words they used I would try to used it when I talk to my teacher but most of the time I would get stumble and the kids would laugh at me. It drove me mad knowing that I was the dumb kid in school. My parent were getting scared of me that I would get bad grade because I was always watching TV but they and even I was surprise when I saw my report card. My grades were in the B’s and a note form a teacher said that I was exceling really quickly. I stared reading more books and continue to enhance my reading and writing ability. By end of 7th grade I was able to talk to people fluently and understand 7th grade level English. Knowing that I had come so far from not talking and understanding to being able to talk to people made me seek more knowledge. I began to talk to more people and surprisingly I had few Mexican and African friends. By learning how to talk to other people and being able to read and write it opened a whole new world for me where I can explore. People understood me and I understood them, I never felt so relief in my life thus inspire me to carve for more

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Immigration Reflective Essay

...Throughout this course I was continuously brought to the conclusion that the United States immigration policy is a broken system, casting many aside and leaving them to their own devices. Coming from an immigrant background, those who had not obtained citizenship yet were always looked down upon by those in my family with citizenship. Prior to this course I felt compelled to go right along with that notion. I have learned the most about immigrants and their experiences from the two video assignments, VIDEO 1, and VIDEO 2. The videos brought real human examples of our broken system and gives us the element of humanity to it. It is incredibly easy to learn concepts and memorize definitions, but in a course about humans, I believe a connection is truly formed when we can associate faces with the concepts. While each immigrant group sparked some kind of emotional response from me, the group that affected me the most was children born to immigrant parents. As the module...

Words: 639 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Moving Away from Home

...David Schleicher Narrative Essay 5/27/2014 Moving to America Transformed My Life In the past I came across many changes but leaving my country was the toughest change in my life. I had to learn how to live away from people I love and how to start a new life in a new country. Immigration is a life changing experience; learning a new language, adapting to the culture and lifestyle changes are all strenuous things that were thrown at me once I became a part of this country. Even though moving away from my family and friends was a difficult decision, it changed my live for a better. It taught me how to deal with change, how to become an independent and responsible person, and how to feel this country my home. I never imagined living in another country. I remember as it was yesterday when my mom said, “Daniela, I know you do not want to leave Colombia but I have to take you with me, you are my youngest child and I will not let you here” I started arguing with her, saying that how she could do that to me when I already had plans to start college and that I was happy in my country but at the end I gave up and decided to come to America. It was February 10th, 2010, when I left Colombia and was forced to leave my friends, my grandmother, my school, my language and culture to move to this big new country to start a new life. As I took my last look at my home, I remembered all the fun times I had with my mom and sister and friends throughout my life. Tears were...

Words: 1284 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

What

...N I N G O B J E C T I V E S 10 1. Identify the purpose and structure of narrative writing. 2. Recognize how to write a narrative essay. Rhetorical modes simply mean the ways in which we can effectively communicate through language. This chapter covers nine common rhetorical modes. As you read about these nine modes, keep in mind that the rhetorical mode a writer chooses depends on his or her purpose for writing. Sometimes writers incorporate a variety of modes in one essay. In covering the nine rhetorical modes, this chapter also emphasizes these as a set of tools that will allow you greater flexibility and effectiveness in communicating with your audience and expressing your ideas. rhetorical modes The ways in which we effectively communicate through language. 1.1 The Purpose of Narrative Writing Narration means the art of storytelling, and the purpose of narrative writing is to tell stories. Any time you tell a story to a friend or family member about an event or incident in your day, you engage in a form of narration. In addition, a narrative can be factual or fictional. A factual story is one that is based on, and tries to be faithful to, actual events as they unfolded in real life. A fictional story is a made-up, or imagined, story; the writer of a fictional story can create characters and events as he or she sees fit. However, the big distinction between factual and fictional narratives is based on a writer’s purpose. The writers of factual stories try to recount...

Words: 14947 - Pages: 60

Premium Essay

Faith Ringgold Research Papers

...known for her painting, quilting, and activism. Ringgold’s artistic journey is intertwined deeply with her experiences as a black woman in America. Some of Ringgold’s most influential pieces are her narrative quilts. The designs, colors, and fabric are all woven together to represent the personal and historical stories from the African American perspective. Through her quilts, Ringgold brings attention to overlooked histories and celebrates the resilience of her community. Her artwork explores themes like race and gender, which challenge societal norms and advocates for equality. Born in Harlem, New York in 1930, Faith Ringgold was brought up in a community that embraced creativity. The Harlem Renaissance exposed her to many African-American artists, such as Duke Ellington and Langston Hughes. Additionally, art was very intertwined with her own family, particularly fiber arts. Her mother was a fashion designer who taught Faith how to sew and create patterns with fabric at a young age (Seiferle). Ringgold’s great-great-great-grandmother made quilts as...

Words: 1224 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

My Name

...English 1510 Writing and Rhetoric Fall 2015 Professor Phone Michael D. Brown (cell) 740-593-3499 Office: Ellis 312 (office) 740-593-9941 Email: brownm@ohio.edu Description This is a writing course required for most freshmen at O.U. The purpose of the course is to practice and improve the writing skills you’ve acquired in your academic career to date. You will find, I believe, that having strong writing skills will be an invaluable asset to your future academic and professional careers. In the coming weeks you will complete various writing assignments, taking each of them through the stages of drafting, revising, and editing before handing them in for a grade. I will give you all assignments in writing posted to Blackboard; also I will post all reading material on Blackboard or we’ll retrieve materials through online sources; thus there are no texts to buy for this course. Requirements You will complete approximately four graded assignments over the course of this semester – comprised of the following: 1. Politics, government policy, and/or social and cultural issues. Some of you may be interested and engaged in these matters already – such matters as economic theory and policy, immigration, gun rights vs. sensible gun regulation, health care policy, veteran affairs and funding, equal pay for women, women’s access to abortion and contraception, the right wing’s current attempt to defund Planned Parenthood; the Tea Party vs. . . . ALL government...

Words: 1143 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Living Between Two Cultures

...It has been almost nine years since I arrived from Mexico to the United States. Integrating these two unique cultures has been a wonderful experience. For immigrants in the United States culture differences can be difficult and complicate. Assimilating two separate cultures is an ongoing challenge. In this essay, I will describe the issues many immigrants face in regards to diversity, stereotyping, preserving self identity and personal values. America is nation that is populated with a culturally diverse group of people. The United States has welcomed more immigrants than any other country. The steady stream of people coming to America has had a profound effect on the evolution of American society. America is known as the land of the free and people from all over the world are attracted by promise of opportunity and success. It is not easy for those who move to the United States from other countries. It takes a lot of courage and sacrifice to leave your homeland and come to a new country, but the prospect of a better life makes the risk worth taking. Immigrants who come to America enrich the country by bringing aspects of their native cultures with them. For example, Hispanic Americans celebrate their culture with street fairs and other festivities on Cinco de Mayo. Other cultures, such as African Americans celebrate both Kwanzaa, a festival drawn from African rituals. As the population of the United States becomes more diverse its people are being exposed to holidays and...

Words: 1472 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

The Recovery Model in Mft

...lucky recipients of a label they carried with them for life, or until they “recovered.” Mental health labels carry with them a certain stigma that communicates to the person they are different, perhaps less of a person and that “normal” may never be a reality with their “illness.” Recovery would be based on becoming symptom-free, or at the very least, a significant reduction in symptoms (Gehart, 2012). The mental health field has experienced tremendous growth in terms of understanding the plethora of conditions people experience, as well as in treatment of those conditions. However, one thing remained unchanged until recently. The idea behind recovery shifted from coercive treatment to person-centered change (Onken, et al, 2007). Gehart states is this way, “instead of using the medical paradigm of disease, the recovery paradigm approached mental “illness” using a social model of disability that emphasizes psychosocial functioning over medical symptomatology” (2012). The focus of recovery shifted from the illness to the person. The recovery model gave way to the idea that change can happen and that the person should be at the center of the decision-making process to “reach their highest possible level of functioning, while developing new meanings for their lives”...

Words: 1959 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Jail Management Sysem

...Jail Management System Known as having the largest correctional system in the world the United States of America has a hierarchy of correctional centers. The United States justice system consist of administrative works for adjudicating and processing those who are accused and convicted of various crimes ranging from blue collar crimes up to murder. In 1770 the Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia was recognized as the first penitentiary in America, according to Steve Schooner from the University of San Diego. Around the 17th to date, the American prison system has completely changed keeping some of the same principles. The prison system of the United States has clearly changed from its first debut in the late 1700's. The mission of the prison system in the United States then was to keep society safe from those who were found guilty of crimes in a court of law by confining them in full control of the government. Whether state or federal agencies have control of the accused the principles remain the same. State and federal agencies are charged with keeping the accused in confinement until the judicial system deems necessary according for the seriousness of the crime. The impact of the great penitentiary rivalry on our current prison system includes two systems, he Pennsylvania System and the Auburn System. The Pennsylvania System was supported by the notion of keeping all who were committed to prison behind bars and separated from all other prisoners. Silence and continuous...

Words: 1543 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Culture Globalization

...into the set of norms, beliefs and values that form the culture. It is important to understand identity because we are faced with the challenge of accepting and appreciating other culture systems in order to avoid ethnic nationalism and hostility. Everyone has a natural idea of what cultural identity is, just like anybody else I can tell you about my background and where I come because of the ideas I adapted growing up in life. But the change in awareness is that I can identify my self as a Bosnian American because I understand the shared beliefs and behaviors of the people that raised me. While changes in cultures are ongoing and inevitable, the change in understanding globalization has facilitated a greater transfer of ideas for me from both Bosnia and the United States. These concepts manifest themselves to my culture because it creates the idea that norms and practices can be shared amongst each other. Whether one lives in the United States, China, or Bosnia and Herzegovina, globalization is having a profound affect on how people live their lives. In order for you to understand how globalization has helped me better understand my culture and identity I would like to clarify the principal terms of the paper: “Culture” and “Globalization.” According to our week two readings culture, “is the full range of learned behavior… which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.” Culture provides...

Words: 1197 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Studies in Professional Life and Work

...STUDIES IN PROFESSIONAL LIFE AND WORK Mike Hayler University of Brighton, UK Autoethnography, Self-Narrative and Teacher Education examines the professional life and work of teacher educators. In adopting an autoethnographic and life-history approach, Mike Hayler develops a theoretically informed discussion of how the professional identity of teacher educators is both formed and represented by narratives of experience. The book draws upon analytic autoethnography and life-history methods to explore the ways in which teacher educators construct and develop their conceptions and practice by engaging with memory through narrative, in order to negotiate some of the ambivalences and uncertainties of their work. The author’s own story of learning, embedded within the text, was shared with other teacher-educators, who following interviews wrote self-narratives around themes which emerged from discussion. The focus for analysis develops from how professional identity and pedagogy are influenced by changing perceptions and self-narratives of life and work experiences, and how this may influence professional culture, content and practice in this area. Autoethnography, Self-Narrative and Teacher Education Autoethnography, Self-Narrative and Teacher Education STUDIES IN PROFESSIONAL LIFE AND WORK The book includes an evaluation of how using this approach has allowed the author to investigate both the subject and method of the research with implications for ...

Words: 18203 - Pages: 73

Premium Essay

Liberal Education

...LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION A Thesis Presented by Victoria Pleshakova to The Faculty of the Graduate College of The University of Vermont In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Education Specializing in Interdisciplinary Studies May, 2009 Accepted by the Faculty of the Graduate College, The University of Vermont, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of niIaster of Education, specializing in Interdisciplinary Studies. Thesis Examination Committee: . 2 M d Johnson, 111, D.P.A. ,G!krMb. %.&I;-; Patricia A. Stokowski, Ph. D Interim Dean, Graduate College Date: March 4,2009 ABSTRACT The humanities have always been under attack in the higher education of the United States of America. Corporate culture of the university requires the most money distributed towards research and specialization, while making employability of the graduates the main goal of education. With two thirds of all majors being in business and finance, humanities don’t seem to play a big role in higher education overall. This work makes an attempt in defense of liberal arts education to our students, and the importance of teaching the subjects like English, Literature and Philosophy independent of a student’s major concentration. Even in our age of specialized and corporatized education, these courses are of great importance. These subjects can help young people find their way in this confusing web of life weaved out of pressure, expectations...

Words: 17805 - Pages: 72

Premium Essay

Current Affairs Term Paper

...CURRENT AFFAIRS AND HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS My view of studying history is that it is important for future generations to know where their ancestors have been and what they have accomplished in order to make future changes and developments in a society. I feel that without studying American history most industries would not be able to grow to meet the demands of modern day needs. Take for instance the computer industry and it’s progression in the last 40 years. My laptop that I’m writing this paper with has as much power, if not more than the computers used to put a man on the moon. That would not be possible if manufacturers did not look at ways to improve what they already have developed, which means they have to look back at what they have created in the past. Among other important reasons for studying American History would be subjects such as labor laws and social security. We as a society want to live better lives and improve the quality of our lives and so by looking at the past we can make changes in the future to benefit our future generations. In my view without studying history there would be no progressive future. I think many people have a negative view on studying history because they can’t seem to find a connection to how history relates or affects their lives. I believe that anyone can find something interesting to study in history. It’s just a matter of finding a way for them to connect with a subject on a personal or professional level. Maybe someone does not...

Words: 2299 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

The Bear Flag Revolt

...This essay will seek to identify one piece of world history that has been misunderstood by most of not all people around the globe. To many American historians, The Bear Flag Revolt is too fresh in their minds to forget it. The revolt took place in a span of one month between June and July of 1846 when a group of American settlers based in California felt the need to proclaim California an independent republic after revolting against the Mexican government. However, the efforts of these settlers did not last for long because as soon as after their rise, the American troops began to occupy California, and later on, it joined the union. To remind most residents of Napa and Sonoma, the mere use of the bear flag as the official state flag in California since 1911 is itself a big win for...

Words: 2220 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

A World Divided

...people visiting the island, or to get away from the hardship and stress of their everyday lives. As for me, I saw the poverty of Nassau, Bahamas. Desperate people crowded the straw market and stared across the bridge at Atlantis where vacationers slept in Mahogany furnished rooms with luxurious bedding. Why did the residents have to live the way they do, sleeping on dirt floors? Into the night, the brilliant lights of Atlantis became a world miles away, but out of grasp. We approached the market eager to do some local shopping. Hundreds of vendors brought everything they created to start their marketing line. We live in the U.S., where items are ready-made and disposable, and, if something breaks, we buy a new one. I began thinking about my Michael Kors sunglasses that I had broken on the boat and how I was going to order a new pair when I arrived home. This venue, this world I walked into, was a world that required thought and imagination, of taking the very least commodity they had and turning it into a marketable item to sell, not for the latest technological device or new shoes, but to put food on the table. It humbled me immensely. Louis 2 I approached an elderly man, who looked to be about eighty years old. He dressed in modest clothes, dirty and completely barefoot, took the dried corn shucks from his field and weave them tenderly into beautiful flowers and intricate baskets. Endlessly, he laid each piece of corn stalk in its appropriate place, and I felt the pride...

Words: 2299 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Sire

...Diasporic Cross-Currents in Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost and Anita Rau Badami’s The Hero’s Walk HEIKE HÄRTING N HIS REVIEW of Anil’s Ghost, Todd Hoffmann describes Michael Ondaatje’s novel as a “mystery of identity” (449). Similarly, Aritha van Herk identifies “fear, unpredictability, secrecy, [and] loss” (44) as the central features of the novel and its female protagonist. Anil’s Ghost, van Herk argues, presents its readers with a “motiveless world” of terror in which “no identity is reliable, no theory waterproof” (45). Ondaatje’s novel tells the story of Anil Tessera, a Sri Lankan expatriate and forensic anthropologist working for a UN-affiliated human rights organization. Haunted by a strong sense of personal and cultural dislocation, Anil takes up an assignment in Sri Lanka, where she teams up with a local archeologist, Sarath Diyasena, to uncover evidence of the Sri Lankan government’s violations of human rights during the country’s period of acute civil war. Yet, by the end of the novel, Anil has lost the evidence that could have indicted the government and is forced to leave the country, carrying with her a feeling of guilt for her unwitting complicity in Sarath’s death. On one hand, Anil certainly embodies an ethical (albeit rather schematic) critique of the failure of global justice. On the other, her character stages diaspora, in Vijay Mishra terms, as the “normative” and “ exemplary … condition of late modernity” (“Diasporic” 441) — a condition usually associated...

Words: 12618 - Pages: 51