ipl-logo

Reflective Essay: An Immigration To The US

559 Words3 Pages

“Do you even speak English,” a gringo asked me. “No, yo no hablo ingles”, 13-year old me responded. I am from the Dominican Republic and I have been living in the United States for four years. When I came to the States, I was only 13 years old. My journey was definitely not an easy one. Learning another language was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Being an immigrant is not easy because I am in a foreign country that is not mine. I came to the States with my younger brother and had to start from the beginning. When I imagined coming to the States, I pictured Hollywood, famous actors, the best fast food, and of course- the “American Dream”. I soon realized that this was only glamorized in movies and far from the truth. I know I had goals for myself and that helped me stay positive. Although I believed that every goal I have in my life can be attained through hard work- that was always not the case. My experience learning English was one other hardest thing I have ever done in my life. When I started high school, I had very little …show more content…

Now, I know more English and can understand around 80% of what people are saying. I feel amazed at my accomplishments, but still, strive to be better. By taking ownership of my own education, I now know how to defend myself. This challenge helped me realize that there are people who are in the same situation as I am and I want to help those people who do not understand English. Currently, I am an ESL mentor for freshman students at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School. My goal is to help people who are in a similar situation as mine. I recognize that I always had teachers, friends, and mentors who pushed me to be my best. This was the main reason that helped me believe in myself and never allowed me to give up on my dreams. Yes- the “American Dream” is difficult to achieve, but it is not

Show More
Related

  • What Are The Barriers In The Devil's Highway Urrea

    742 Words  | 3 Pages

    Very few, if any, immigrants have the chance to learn English before traveling to the U.S. Because of this barrier, it is nearly impossible for organizations such as the Border Patrol to warn, aid, and communicate with them as they travel to the U.S. Although there are helpful signs along the border, they are written in English and are therefore indecipherable. Furthermore, the language border hinders an immigrant’s ability to survive in American society once they arrive. English is the written and spoken language in almost every city, thwarting immigrants’ opportunity to find jobs and interact with others. As they struggle to communicate, they become ostracized and do not fit in.

    Read More

  • UCF Personal Statement

    489 Words  | 2 Pages

    Similar to other immigrants my family history is somewhat compelling. Starting with my grandfather who was exiled out of Egypt in 1959 primarily as a result of the "decolonization process and the rise of Egyptian nationalism”, my immediate family and I also left France in 2004 as a result of rising tension against Jews. The migration of my grandparents and parents, from a young age, cultivated a sense of determination in me to overcome obstacles. Arriving in Miami at age 5, I had to learned my third language, English, in order to attend school. I was determined to and successfully lost my accent and got tested into the gifted program after a year of school.

    Read More

  • Single Or Married Stephanie Coontez Analysis

    818 Words  | 4 Pages

    I was able to relate to some of the stories immigrant children shared, but for others their stories were surprising. In the article “Translating America For Parents and Family; Children of Immigrants Assume Difficult Roles” by Chris Hedges, Edda Barros spoke about her experiences translating for her parents. Edda said, “There are times, especially with doctors, when I have no idea what they are talking about”, translating is not always easy. I have been in Edda’s situation before, where I do not understand what I am supposed to be translating and will have to asking what it means. This happens both in person and when I have to read something to my parents.

    Read More

  • Immigrants Come To America Essay

    2147 Words  | 9 Pages

    Why America? Is it because we give opportunities or is it because we let the people start all over with their lives? The United States over time has changed over the years because of how people come from parts of the world for better lives. Latinos over the year have been going up since the 90’s and still coming.

    Read More

  • Sexism In The Great Gatsby

    1004 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many people have the American dream as a goal because it means that you have made it in America. People want as much money as they can get and want it as easily as possible. Not many people realize that “It involves hard work, financial security, career success, and confidence that each new generation will be better off than the one before it,” (Lopez). The American dream is extremely hard to achieve because it is different for everyone. For some people, the American dream doesn’t include having as much money as possible.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: Immigration To The United States

    160 Words  | 1 Pages

    July 4th, America declared independence from Britain. Ironically, on July 4th, 1997, my parents came to the U.S , declaring independence from their own country. Christians in Egypt were beaten up, wrongly convicted, and killed. My parents did not want to raise their children in such a corrupt society and desired to come to America to pursue a better way of life . On November 26, 1999, I was born and my parents knew that this would mean a worse financial crisis.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: My Immigration To America

    553 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Coming To America From A Foreign Country

    165 Words  | 1 Pages

    Being born and raised in a culture and then uprooting your life to pursue opportunities in a different culture can be hard in three ways. First, speaking a foreign language and then coming to America where majority of the people speak English can be difficult to adapt to. When a person has grown accustomed to speaking their native language, it can be problematic to have to pick up an entire new language. Possibilities can be limited because of the restrictions on one’s ability to communicate with other. Second, if a teenager comes to America from a foreign country they will have to take on responsibilities that they normally would not.

    Read More

  • Cuban Immigration Personal Statement

    424 Words  | 2 Pages

    At first, the social peculiarity given to me by my migration status and language limitations made me a victim of bullying, which made me want to go back to the safety and similarity of my home country. However, the persistent nature engraved in me by my parents did not allow me to give in to the constant discriminatory voices that kept telling me that I would never be "American" enough.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Little Pink Houses By John Melencamp

    699 Words  | 3 Pages

    While some feel as if they made it and achieved their own set of goals, others might have bigger goals in the way before they can achieve their own American Dream within the United

    Read More

  • Barriers In The Devil's Highway

    697 Words  | 3 Pages

    Very few, if any, immigrants have the opportunity or time to learn English before they immigrate to the U.S. This barrier makes it almost impossible to warn and aid them. Although the Border Patrol and humanitarian groups attempt to warn immigrants about human smugglers, the signs are written in English. In addition to indecipherable signs, the language border hinders an immigrant’s ability to survive in American society. In almost every community, English is the written and spoken language.

    Read More

  • Immigration To America Thesis

    313 Words  | 2 Pages

    Svetlana Kliminsky Introduction Topic: Svetlana Kliminsky introduction speech. Immigration to America. Specific Purpose: My purpose is to introduce. I am going to introduce myself and tell why my family immigrated.

    Read More

  • Perception Of Immigration Essay

    1727 Words  | 7 Pages

    Jace Conceicao Mr. Censabella US History 08 May 2023 The Perception of Immigration Immigration and the United States have become synonymous with each other. Immigration has been a major part of the history of the United States, with millions upon millions of people coming to the United States for many reasons, like the pull factors, which attracted many immigrants because of things like the American Dream, which promised for a far better life than what any other country could provide at the time. This allowed the United States to look like the greatest in the world.

    Read More

  • Personal Reflective Essay: Adapting To America

    520 Words  | 3 Pages

    Raised all my life in Puerto Rico and then transferring to America was a great challenge. I had to overcome various difficulties in order to adapt to new ideas, cultures, and lifestyles. One of the obstacles I encountered was adapting to school. Since I was five my parents wanted me to imbibe the English language in order to have an exceptional future filled with opportunities, but when I arrived all my hard work in learning English did not seem to matter at my middle school. I arrived in this country thinking I was going to be in the most challenging classes and be at the top but reality smacked me in the face the first day I entered eighth grade.

    Read More

  • Public And Private Language By Amy Tan And Mother Tongue By Richard Rodriguez

    932 Words  | 4 Pages

    Imagine knowing one language and then needing to learn a whole new one to fit into society. For immigrant families, this is their reality when they come to the US. It is harder for the parents than the kids to learn English, since they learn it earlier on, but they all see and go through many challenges. Authors Amy Tan and Richard Rodriguez, who are from immigrant families, write about their own and their family's experiences. In the essays “Mother Tongue” (375) by Amy Tan and “Public and Private Language” (369) by Richard Rodriguez, the authors go through different experiences and struggles, yet are both affected by them in similar ways.

    Read More

More about Reflective Essay: An Immigration To The US

Open Document