All of us have experienced rite of passage in our life that makes us grow and become more mature. As an immigrant, the change of coming to new country is more significant and cherished. The progress of this path is vital but filled with difficulties. I am from Fujian, China. I am a joyful and naive boy named Zhennan Wang. It is pleasant to live in my hometown, which is in the southeastern coast. There are various types of seafood and large amount of farmlands.
I, as a child, always enjoyed the life with my family and friends. Different from those in the United States, the kids in China can always play outside freely and interact with friends more. During Chinese New Year, kids have winter vacation, so we can have different kind of special foods to eat and enjoy. Kids can get red envelopes filled with money from our family and relatives. My friends and I gather together sharing the amount of money we get and buy fireworks to play. Even though playing fireworks is dangerous, we also have a fun time by doing so.
In a typical school day, students eat lunch at home or outside instead of staying in school for foods. When I heard that I was going to the United States, I felt very excited because I could finally meet my dad, and I haven't seen him for about seven years (he came to the United States when I was five or six years old). Therefore, I chose to come with my mom. However, I later found that I was depressed because leaving my home country is like taking off a part of a memory in my life.
"...leaving my home country is like taking off a part of a memory in my life."
On the night before my leaving, I had difficulty falling to sleep. I woke up at 3:00 in the morning and waited for my relatives and friends to come. Even though I was so sleepy, I couldn't waste the little time I had left to enjoy my country and everyone who accompanied me. I missed my family, neighbor, and friends so much that I even cried when I left. They all came to the airport to say goodbye. I spent all my childhood in China, and the sudden change made the experience feel strange.
I arrived in New York when I was 12 in 2012. We took an airplane to China's capital Beijing, and then we started our journey of change. The journey was long, and I stayed in the airplane for about 16 hours, and had a difficult time to fall asleep. The noise of the airplane distracted my drowsiness. It was also the first time I traveled by plane, so I was so nervous and scared because I have acrophobia. When I finally arrived, I was so tired and hungry, but I knew my bright future was waiting for me. Coming to the new country means getting rid of everything that affects me to adapt to the society, including beliefs, personalities, and lifestyle. Education is one of the most difficult things to overcome. The teaching style in China is so different than that in America. In China, students only speak English during the class while the teacher usually translates each sentence to Chinese. The teaching books are different that they only include certain dialogues and vocabulary for us to learn. Therefore, I couldn't understand much even though I had learned English since third grade in China. In order to learn English faster, I went to prep school to get extra help. I also watched TV shows that have Chinese translation to improve listening and speaking skills. All the efforts have come to success.
I am so glad that I can have the perseverance to challenge myself and achieve well.
Another problem that I face is my uncle. My family lives with his family. He was so critical about everything I did. He always complains about my "wrongdoing," even though I am correct. Every time I try to talk to him, he just blames everything on me and gives unreasonable explanations. He never criticizes his sons, as they are his saints. He also embarrasses me for the good of his son. He is the cross I have to bear. My parents realize the situation, but they never react upon it because of family relationship. With two years of this dark period, the path to this new country finally offered a shining ray of light. That's the time I met this new prep teacher named Dennis. He has a partially baldhead, and he wears glasses. He is responsible for all his promises and this is why he always thinks before acting. He recognized my talents and taught me SAT strategies and tips. He also gave me suggestions that can benefit me to adapt into the society and learn more knowledge. In addition, he teaches me life lessons that can guide me in the right path to the future. He enriches and adds more satisfaction to my daily life. I am very grateful to him. I don't really have contact with him now, but if I could tell something to him now, I would say,
"Thank you Dennis, you are the most amiable and patient teacher I have ever meet. You have helped me to endure countless hardships socially, educationally, and interpersonally. Thank you so much! I have changed so much since I first came.
I have become more mature and thoughtful. I also learned to be more outgoing and sociable so I can adapt into the surroundings. Moreover, my family and I began to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other holidays. I started to watch more TV shows and movies to improve English. Thinking about my childhood in China, I believe I have totally changed personally and mentally as well. Now I am a junior. I will face college soon. I hope I can get into a good college and do well afterward. I am planning to major in accounting or engineering, but I am still confused about my future. Maybe I am just too afraid to face it and become an adult. If I can be successful, I can imagine myself working in a big company in New York, reading a series of numbers everyday. Hopefully, I will live in a middle class group, enjoying my daily life and resting when it's possible.
Life can be hard, but when you begin to face it and don't turn away, you will be the master of your destiny. What goes around comes around. I appreciated my prep teacher's help and support, and I wanted to spread this generosity and amicability to others in order to influence more people to do the same for the next one.
The person I helped this Friday at 7:00 p.m. was my cousin. His name is Zhichao Lin, a boy who immigrated to this new country a year ago. He is a very outgoing and sociable person, but entering to this new environment makes him feel uncomfortable. When he was young, he was always a good child and a student. Everything seemed perfect until he got into middle school in China, when he began hang out with wild guys and changed to a totally different person. That's when his parents started to think about his future. They believed China is not the place where he can still grow and enjoy life, so they got the idea of immigrating to the United States. He didn't care a lot and didn't refuse because he respects his parents as well as his life. He understood that the United States has more opportunities and better future; therefore, he decided to come. I think it is a sad story as I hear it. I feel very depressed for my cousin because of the changing personalities by his classmates in China. However, I also feel joyful since he made the decision to come and have bright future.
Every immigrant face many difficulties, including my cousin, so I decided to help him by welcoming him. I taught him how to read the subway map and signs in the station so he won't get lost when taking a train. I also told him information about high school, helping him to get familiar to Newcomers High School since he's coming next semester. Some of the things I told him are go easy with discrimination and bullying, tell a teacher if necessary, don't react on them. Try to make competitive friends who have the desire to succeed. Behave yourself on the first day of school to the last; everything is cumulative in your transcript. It is also important for you to bring good impression on your teacher not only for good grade but also for recommendation letter. The school requires 25 hours of community service, but it is better if you do over hundred. For all of this advice I gave made him very surprised. He didn't know much of high school before I told him. Now he is determined to be a good student again and so well in high school. In the future, I will share more experience to him so he can feel comfortable academically and societally. I feel very proud because I can use my knowledge and skill to teach and help others. I hope my cousin can be successful in the future. Everyone comes to the United States from different background, culture, race, language, but they all share the same hopes and opportunities for the future.