Coming to America
Growing up, I always wondered what space would be like, the idea of being in this completely new dimension of life where you had little control. That is how it felt being in a completely new environment that comes with culture, language, weather and people. Nothing can really prepare you for change until it happens and you learn from its first-hand experience. Actually, the first experiences of my new location were that it was going to be hard to blend in. natural instincts kicked in and the best way to adapt was to look the part, that means a complete overhaul of how I thought to a complete change of what I knew. It was the best definition of what mind blowing should be. It is like walking into your house but you have no idea whose stuff is in it. You have no idea of what anything is.
Coming to America has a lot of pressure to it in that you have this idea of what kind of a place it is from what you have read and from the films you have seen. That creates an idea of what the place is but that can be far from reality. When I arrived, I quickly realized that the movies and the many books I had read were a far exaggeration to how life really is. You expect there to be opportunities knocking on your door but that only happens in cartoon fairy tales. Even in one of best economies, unemployment, crime and illiteracy are a big challenge. To make matter worse, a new Chinese student joins the class. Naturally, everyone goes into defense mode because they are wondering why you have decided to come and join them and reduce their chance of getting their dream job. Instead of receiving a warm welcome, you are met with blank stares of, “What are you doing here?”
Having moved at a young age, communication was a very big barrier for me. I was coming from a place where I could express myself and here having English as a second language meant that it was really hard for me to express how I felt. At times, it felt as if I was talking to a wall whenever I tried to explain myself to those around me. It got to a point that it became depressing and I felt lost. Lost in my own emotions, lost in this new world, lost in my thoughts. The feeling that I was moving in a dark room with only a small flickering lamp. In times like this, you easily lose perspective of who you are and it becomes hard to bring out your identity and character. I got to a point that I became a stranger to myself because I had no idea of who I was anymore.
Culturally, it was all different. The social norms taught in China were somehow not that relevant her anymore. There was a sense of freedom of expression in this new place. Something that was a taboo to me. How can someone just express themselves? This seemed far-fetched that you had the freedom to do anything you wanted as long as it did not endanger anyone around you. This was one of the things that made the USA so attractive that you can be liberal. Sometimes, hearing it makes it sound too good to be true, but seeing it happening makes it really sink in. in this new place, people dressed however they wanted and were free to do whatever they felt like. This felt like a trap to me at first as if the new environment was trying to test my limits. It felt as it I was being tempted to do something then I would-be put-on trail for it. It was all confusing.
“What choice of music am I to listen to?” “What is my favorite meal?” “What kind of sport should I play?” It became like a whole new life that I was set to begin. So, I decided to try out for the basketball team and it went well. I got into the team and in the process made some friends. This was the light at the end of the tunnel that I needed to help build my new life on. Basketball gave me a channel to voice my ideas, to express who I was and to build on my confidence. The sense of sport speaks all language came alive to me am on the court. The only things that comes to mind is winning with my team mates and always being my best. There is nothing about race or color on the court, we all work as one team. Finally, I had something that I could build my life around that would help me fit in. My teammates helped me settle in and taught me the basics that I needed to learn in order to adapt faster.
Reflecting on all of this, it is not all that different to life in China. We are all born with a desire to be great in our lives by doing something meaningful. We all want to become rich and live a wealthy life. The main difference is the language, location and culture. However, if you can overcome these three elements, you open yourself up to new possibilities and achievements. It is never easy but with determination, nothing is ever too hard to achieve. From what we have been learning in class, it is evident that all of us have a purpose in life that is greater than any one of us. We all need each other in order to co-exist and to thrive. Even though we might look different on the outside, we all have similar desires on the inside. We all belong on the same tree of life as branches that spread out to enable others to blossom and prosper. Like the Poet John Donne once argued, “No [hu]man is an island, entire of itself.” Sample Solution