It all started with my parents telling me that we are moving to the US. My name is Iqbalpreet Singh. I am 19 years old. I am a very friendly and positive minded person. I am very passionate about cricket. I try to find happiness in every single thing that I do in my daily life. I also try to cherish each and every moment of my life. I am from India. I came to the United States with my family in June 2013. I have one younger brother. Just like others, we also came here to find a better life and be successful.
We can even say that we also wanted to live the American dream. We didn't have any plans of coming to the US before we got a call for our visa interview. It all happened so fast that I didn't even realize for a moment that we would be in the US in the coming months.
The most difficult thing for me at that time was not to have any friends and get bored all the time at home. We had a lot of relatives here, which made it a bit easier for us. At first, everything seemed to be really good and I was enjoying my time here as we used to go to new places every day, but my opinions and views about the US started to change after a few days. I was not too bad in English when I came here. Actually, I used to go to an English school back in India. So, I was pretty comfortable with English here, but there were still a few moments when I used to get nervous and go blank while talking to someone in English. In order to improve my English speaking and listening skills, I started watching TV shows, news and cartoons in my free time, which helped a lot. I am still trying to get that American accent.
To be honest, I never found anyone who recognized my talents until now. I will still say that my uncle helped us a lot in settling down in this new country. He taught us how life works here and helped us adjust to the conditions. He also helped my parents find jobs here. He is a businessman and owns construction companies. He is a really nice and big-hearted human being. He helps everyone as much as possible. He just wants his whole family to be together with him here in the US and that's the reason why he sponsored all his relatives to come to the United States. I am still in touch with this person. He often comes to visit us during the weekends. I don't think we can ever repay him for what he has done and what he is doing for us, but I will definitely fulfill his dream of seeing us succeed and flourish in this country just like he did. Actually, he came here back in 1984 and he knows what real hardships are. Now, he doesn't want any of his relatives or family members to go through the same.
My life was really good back in India. My childhood was awesome. Being the first child of my parents, everyone used to pamper me a lot. I spent most of my childhood with my grandmother because my parents used to go to work. My father was a professor in a college and my mother was a teacher in a school. I used to go to the same school where my mother was a teacher. Both of my parents are from a state named Punjab in India. My parents had an arranged marriage. My grandfather was a farmer and we owned a lot of farmland in our village. I always knew that the US is totally different from India. My mother had been to the US before for my cousin's marriage. So, she had already told me everything about the US, which made it even more exciting because I wanted to be here as soon as possible and experience everything on my own. My mother's sister was the one who sponsored us for the family visa in 2001. We got our visa in 2013 and then we came here the same year.
I was really excited when I heard that we were going to the US. I will never forget the night before we were about to leave for the airport. Our relatives and neighbors were there to meet us before we left. Everyone got emotional because we were so attached to each other.
My journey was fantastic as that was the first time I travelled by plane. I don't really have any regrets about leaving my country because I believe that everything happens for some reason and we never know what we have in our destiny. My life has changed a lot since I came here. I used to be really bad in my studies in India and I didn't even have any aim in my life. I was a carefree person, but now things are different and I have found out what life really is. Now, I study really hard because I am focused towards my aim in life, which is to become a mechanical engineer. I just want to keep my family happy. I don't really watch any TV shows here, but I do watch Hollywood movies. I also like to watch Indian movies. I love to listen to Punjabi music. I am also a very athletic person. I play cricket for my school's varsity team. Other sports that are a part of my interests are Volleyball and Badminton.
In 20 years, I see myself as a successful person with a job that pays well and a family whom I can always keep happy. I will probably be a happily married man by that time. After I graduate from college and get a job, I just want to serve my parents for the rest of my life because I know what they have gone through in their lives for us.
Moving to a new country and adjusting to life is not an easy job at all and no one can know this better than me as I have myself experienced all that. I have been living in the US now for almost 3 years and I have a pretty good idea of how life works here. Whenever I meet people who are new to this country, I try to help them as much as I can to make sure that they get used to life here faster and without much difficulty.
Last week, I welcomed my uncle's dad to this country. He is just like a grandfather to me. He came here from India on a tourist visa for a few months just to visit his family. Also, my uncle's children are very young. So, in order for my uncle and aunt to go to work without any worries, they needed someone to take care of their children, as they prefer not to send their children to a daycare center. Even though my uncle's dad is here for only a few months, I felt that it's still my responsibility to welcome him and introduce him to this country, as he was our guest. I went to the airport with my uncle to pick him up. He was really happy to see me there. When I went to meet him again after a few days, he didn't look happy at all. He told me that he gets bored at home after my uncle and aunt go to work, he doesn't know how to go anywhere and he is all alone at home.
When he told me this, I remembered my time when I had to go through the same situation. I was upset to hear what he told me. So, I decided to take him to different places around the neighborhood. The next day, I took him to a Sikh Temple (Gurudwara) and also taught him how to get there in case he wants to go alone which he would, as he is a very religious person and often likes to visit the Sikh temple. In the evening, I took him to a park close to his house where people of his age group and culture come to get together for a walk or sometimes to play cards.
There was a huge change in his mood after that day. He started enjoying his time here. Over the weekend, I took him to the grocery stores, pharmacies and restaurants around his house in case he needs to buy anything when no one is home to go with him. I also told him about the buses and trains in his neighborhood. It was a great first time experience for me as I had brought a smile on someone's face. There were a lot more things that I could have done for him, but I still hope that even the small initiative that I took will bring a difference to his experience in the US. When I met him last, he was really thankful to me for whatever I had done for him in those few days.
The feelings that I had at that point of time were just out of this world. Even words will fall short to describe those feelings. My welcoming action gave me a lot of satisfaction, as I know exactly how it feels to be a newcomer.
This was a great opportunity for me to pay it forward and I think I grabbed this wonderful opportunity with both hands. Hopefully, this is just the beginning and there will be many more of these welcoming experiences to come in the future.