Personal Narrative: My Life In El Salvador

I realize now why they moved us here. My siblings and I got a lot of great opportunities that we would have not gotten if we grew up back in

Going through every security checks and bag checks, I anxiously waited until it was my turn. There were thousands of people standing at the baggage claim waiting to claim their luggage and others were rushing to the gate to catch their flight. I happened to be one of those people. Sitting in the cold lounge, waiting for my flight to El Salvador to arrive, all I could think about was my mother’s last words before she said goodbye.

Throughout the experience, I have learned how to gather the resources that I need to succeed, the hard work immigrants must do to assimilate into a new country leaves a lifelong mark positively. And on me, it has taught me how to never give up, because there’s no one I can fall back on. All I have is myself and my will to accomplish what I

People always told me that money can’t buy happiness, but I never truly experienced what that meant until I met the people of Honduras. The country and the people had an impact on me and on how I see the world. In my interactions with the people and culture of Honduras, among some very challenging living conditions, I was inspired by their love of family, welcoming attitude, and joy of life. For me, Honduras was like a mirror for me to look in and see my own life compared to the Hondurans’. If I brought back one thing with me, it was the desire to be like them in how I face life, love family and friends, and be filled with joy.

I wouldn't be the person I am today without the experiences and where I come from. It all started from where I was born. I was born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti on January 22nd 1995. Haiti is located in the Caribbean, and there we speak two languages fluently, Creole and French. All my family from both my mother’s and my father's side we all come from Haiti. I don’t remember much from the time I was there, because I was very young. I left Haiti when I was about five years old, I went to France with my cousins and aunt and stayed there until I was about eight or nine years old. From there I went to the United States to be with my mother in New York. The majority of my life I spent it in New York with my mother. It wasn’t until August 2014 I moved

I learned how to be a great swimmer, I learned some phrases in German and Italian, and I also grew relationships with my long distance family members. It may not have seemed apparent to me the moment it happened, but my first two hours in a different country played the biggest affect on me as a person. A vacation that was intended to be fun for me ended up being so much more than that, this vacation opened my eyes to all of the other people, places, and things in this world. In two hours that could go by as the seemingly most unimportant time of the trip, I was able to mature and flourish more than I ever have in my

There was not much to do as I grew up in Haiti. I would sit outside for hours until the sun would set, the darkness consuming the little light that once remained.  I didn’t know anything besides my house; my mom believed that our safety simply lay inside the house and anything outside was dangerous. Growing up, I didn’t have my father around because he came to the United States in order to provide for his family back home. At the age of seven both my immigration papers and my sister's were finalized, and we were able to finally be with our father. Unfortunately, our mother was not able to come with us. When we got to the airport, I hugged my mother and said goodbye.

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.

Learning a Life Lesson Reading A Long Way Gone, a book about child soldiers, in Sierra Leone during the 1990’s made me feel disgusted because of the treatment of the young children. Reading about the most disturbing sequence in life, dealing with children my age or under made me realize how much life means. I could not imagine ever going through anything that will determine my life well-being. This made me look forward to more in life and appreciate the life I do live, because everyone doesn't have it like I do.

I have never been to El Salvador, but I have tried the food a few times and every time it’s been amazing. I remember the first time I tried a pupusa. The way the cheese melted in my mouth, its one of those things I wish I can experience for the first time. Now everytime I see someone selling pupusas I HAVE to buy

It was July 15, 2012 my heart was pounding as fast as a racing car,as I slowly walked the steps of the enormous plane,I slowly thought of how different my life was gonna be, in new place i’ve never been to.I felt exited to meet this place but at same time I felt scared……how different was Latin America gonna be?

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.

My mother was born and raised in Carrefour, Haiti. She came to the United States to live with her father. While living here she learned how to mature on her own, drive on her own, and learned how to cook because at the age of 17 years old, she was living on her own because of family issues. Growing up I was close to my dad, but my mother demonstrated to me how to be a leader and how to be independent.

I was born and raised in Sierra Leone, Africa. I came to the United States when I was 11 years old. I was happy for the opportunity to come to the United States and go to school. In Sierra Leone, only the rich get to go to school. I worked hard in school, taught myself how to read and write with the help of the Lord. When I started college, the environment became too much for me, I fell into depression. I felt lost, and empty. My grades were suffering. The harder I studied, the more my GPA suffered. I thought about dropping out of school. One day, I got on my knees and started crying, and talking to God. In that moment, I felt at peace with myself. I started fasting, and reading my bible continuously. I fasted for two weeks, at the end of my

I woke up every morning before dawn to work a full day in agriculture and ended the day singing with kids from the hostel. The work was hard and exhausting, however at the end of our two weeks, I cried. Not for the work, but for the people whom I had worked with. We could barely speak to one another, but created a relationship out of hugs, smiles, and laughs. I learned a great deal about myself, about the strength I had and what I was capable of.