Life was so perfect for me as a child. I was always happy and excited. How could things go so wrong? I was born in Nazareth, Ethiopia. I loved my life; family and friends were always around or close by. The neighborhood I lived in was like a big family. All the kids knew each other and played together, and we all went to the same school. I never had a dull moment; there was always something to do and people to hang out with. Then that day came, my father told me and my mother to gather around the kitchen table because he had some good news to tell us. He had gotten a visa to come to America, and ours was being processed. I remember just standing there and bursting into tears. All I could think about was how badly I was going to miss all my friends and family. I no longer felt like my life was all dandy. Even though I was only six, I could sense that my life was changing for the worst. 

     After a couple of weeks of finding out the bad news, my father had begun to pack so he could come to America. My father and I were extremely close; he was like a best friend to me. All I could think about was, “Who was going to go bike riding with me after school? Or plant flowers and ask me to help fix things around the yard?” That day had finally come; my dad was leaving to go to America. The ride to the airport was extremely quiet, no one spoke a word in the car and everyone just held back all their tears. Once we arrived we had to sit and wait till my dad’s plane was boarding. He took me aside and told me that I would see him again very soon, but I couldn’t believe him instead I just began to cry. I felt like once he boarded I would never see him again; I felt abandoned and crushed.  

    "Where'd you go? I miss you so

     Seems like it's been forever that

     you've been gone

     Where'd you go? I miss you so

     Seems like it's been forever that 

     you've been gone

     Please come back home"

        It had been a whole month since I had seen my daddy. It was so horrible for me, whenever I would see airplanes flying through the sky I would imagine my father being on one of them. After a month and half my mother received a letter from the Immigration Department saying that they had approved our visa to come to America. When she told me we would be leaving soon to be with my father I was ecstatic, but then I realized that I would be leaving all my friends and family behind. The day before our trip, my family planned my mother and me a goodbye party. As hard as it was I had to say goodbye to all of my close friends and family members. After that tearful night, we woke up the next morning and left to catch our plane to come to the U.S. I felt like America was going to be a horrible place. It had already taken my dad away, now it was taking me and my mother away too.

     "Everyday with every word whispered

     We get more far away

     The distance between us makes it so hard to stay

     Nothing last forever, but be honest babe

     It hurts but it may the only way"

       The plane ride to America as a six year old child was extremely uncomfortable and frightening. Even though I was seated next to my mom, that didn’t change the fact that I was restless and hated sitting in one place for a long time, on top of that I am afraid of heights. Since we did not have enough money for a one way ticket, we had to stay one night in Italy and then switch planes in the afternoon. Once we arrived in Italy we had to stay at a hotel till our next flight. My mother and I barely knew any English and defiantly not a word of Italian, so communicating was difficult for us that night. I was so scared everything was so different. I just imagined that night at the hotel if things were already this difficult it’s probably going to be worse in America. We woke up that next morning hungry so we decided to go and order from the kitchen. If we hadn’t bumped into one of the Ethiopian flight attendants that spoke English we would have probably been hungry that whole day. Once we ate we went back to the airport to catch our plane. Just as I had expected our trip had already started out rough.

     After seventeen hours of pure agony we had finally arrived at the Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. It was a whole new world and I was seeing something I've never saw before. As much as I wanted to hate it and just close my eyes, I couldn't stop looking around. It looked so beautiful and it was not how I imagined it. Even though being  in America did excite me, the only person I really wanted to see was my dad, but he was nowhere to be found. Instead my uncle and his wife were there waiting for us. As soon as they saw me they gave me a big hug and told me that my dad was at work, but would be home by the time we got back to their house. They lived in Blacksburg, Virginia and from D.C. to there was about a four hour trip, which I definitely was not looking forward to since we had just got off a long plane ride. As soon as I stepped out of my uncle’s car my father was on the front porch waiting for me with balloons and a huge stuffed animal. We all cried together not because we were sad, but because we hadn’t seen each other for a while and had been miserable when we were apart. My family was reunited again and it felt really good. My uncle had allowed us all to stay at his house till we could manage on our own. Things made a turn for the better when I was with both of my parents again. Maybe America won’t be as bad as I thought it would be?

     "A whole new world

     Don't you dare close your eyes

     A hundred thousand things to see

     Hold your breath, it gets better

     I'm like a shooting star

     I've come so far

     I can't go back 

     To where I used to be"

     Unlike many children it was never hard for me to wake up for school. My parents loved the fact that I would always be on time and prepared. But all that was in Ethiopia, I didn’t even think I would go to school once I came to America. Ah I was so young and naïve. The morning of first grade my mom had to wake me up and get me ready for school, because I definitely was not willing to put forth an effort. I remember begging her that day not to make me go. I was so nervous and scared. Unfortunately, I was forced to go and I cried the whole car ride there. Just like I had expected, school turned out to be miserable. During recess I had no friends to play with, and during lunch I had no one to sit beside and talk to. No one wanted to speak to me because I didn’t know that much English. I remember sitting on the bench during recess thinking about all my friends in Ethiopia and how I would give anything to be over there right now. I was so homesick, I hated school so much and couldn't wait for the day to be over. That night I can recall thinking how much I hated living in America, and how I would never make friends because I was the weird foreigner kid that no one wanted to be around.

     "Do you wanna be somebody else?

     Are you sick of everyone around?

     With the big fake smiles and stupid lies

     Well deep inside you're bleeding

     No you don't know what it's like

     When nothing feels alright

     You don't know what it's like to be like me"

      It was time to make a change! I knew that I couldn’t go through school hiding from people just because I was homesick, and felt like an outsider. Eventually, I did begin to fit in. After first grade I had made a lot of friends, and by interacting with others my English even started to improve. Things were brightening up for me, and my life was turning out to be pretty good once again. Everything's going to be okay. I had it all, two loving parents who always cared for me and friends to enjoy my spare time with. Now as I reflect back on my childhood, I can understand why I felt so miserable and sad at times. Being apart from people you love is never easy, and on top of that coming to a new country and trying to adjust to a new lifestyle and culture can be really difficult. The lesson I have learned in my life so far is that I can always overcome obstacles. Moreover, the obstacles that I have risen above so far have helped shape who I am today. 

     "Life is cheap, bittersweet

     But it tastes good to me

     Take my turn, crash and burn

     That's how it's supposed to be 

     So don't rain on my parade

     Life's too short to waste one day

     I'm gonna risk it all, the freedom to fall

     Yes, it sure looks good to me"

     "I can see clearly now the rain is gone

     I can see all obstacles in my way

     Gone are the dark clouds that had me down

     It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day

     It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day"