English 125
A Whole New Life
I was eleven years old and attending sixth grade in Mexico when my parents made a decision. They used to come to the United States (U.S.) for six months every year. When they were not in Mexico, my grandparents were responsible for my sister and me. During the time my parents were in the U.S., they worked and saved up a little bit of money. My parents would come home every winter and spring because there were no jobs here in the United States during that time of the year. There was a point in their lives when they got tired of moving from one place to another. They decided that they wanted to live in the United States because they wanted us to learn a second language, and also because it would give us the opportunity to go to college. When they first told me about moving, I did not know what to say. The decision they made changed my life.
Even though I wanted to come to the United States, I did not want to leave behind everything I had in Mexico. I had my grandparents who were adorable and always took good care of me. Thanks to them, I am the person I am today because they taught me to be respectful, responsible, and honest. I also did not want to leave behind the friends I grew up with; they were already part of my life. I also had a girlfriend who really loved me. We had been classmates every single year since kindergarten, and we always did our homework assignments together. Still, I wanted to experience new places and other countries. In Mexico, many people arrived from the United States with some really nice cars and wearing a lot of jewelry. It made me think that it was going to be easier here than in Mexico for me to acquire what I wanted. So I ended up coming to the United States with my sister and my parents.
After arriving in the U.S., I found it really hard to adapt to the new type of environment. I basically had to start a new life. When I arrived, I felt like I did not belong here. Even though it was not as nice and overpopulated as I thought it would be, it still was different to me because I had never lived in a city before. Everything was different because here the houses are made out of wood and they also have different structural shapes. In Mexico, the houses are made out of bricks, and the roof is made out of cement and all the houses look the same. Every single house looks either like a square or a rectangle. Another thing that I had to adapt to is the laws. I still miss the freedom I had in Mexico because there were no speed limits, no need of a license in order to hunt, and no legal age to drive.
The way school works here is also different, but I have to admit that the way instructors teach here is much better than in Mexico. When I first went to school here, everyone looked at me as if I was from a different planet. That was the worst experience of my life. It had been a miserable day for me because I had never felt so different from others before. My first week of school was a nightmare because I did not understand a single word. I always had to ask for help to do my homework. Learning how to speak English was really challenging. As the years passed, I got better at understanding, but my pronunciation was still really bad. In fact, I was afraid to go to college because I thought my classmates would make fun of me. However, that didn't keep me back from being an outstanding student. Now I feel like my pronunciation has gotten much better, but I am still working on it because one of my goals is to speak English fluently.
All the challenges and embarrassing moments I have been through were really worth it. I am very thankful with my parents because as a result of their decision, I have discovered a whole new life. I am currently attending college and working hard to get a bachelor’s degree. In the future, I see myself as an engineer. I know it takes some effort in order to be successful, but my willingness and my desire for it will help me put in that effort needed. I know I still have a long way to go, but what is important is that I am really happy because going to college is a dream come true.