Writing Feedback / 'it was a completely new life' - memoir Essay [4]

Abdiwahid Hassan
Barbara Walsh
Eng 111
January 29, 2012

I was ten years old, living in the war-torn county of Somalia. There was a civil war between two different clans that were fighting for power. The war got even worse; you could hear bullets in every corner. This picture describes how the war was fought between the two clans; it happened near my house, when two groups were firing at each other. It was very scary and tragic, because people were getting killed; the scene became so horrible that my mom closed my eyes and hid me in the basement, until the war cooled off a little bit. It became a very dangerous place to live so that my mom decided t send me to the countryside to live with my grandfather.

At first I was very scared because it was a completely new life. I had to go outside and walk the camels and goats, make sure they ate their food; I had to milk the cows and goats and be at home before sunset. Sometimes it was a little bit creepy, because a ling a lion might hunt your animals and eventually attack you. I remember my first night when I brought back the animals. Right after we ate dinner there were other kids who gathered outside the house. I was a bit surprised and I was curious to find out what would happen next.

It turned out to be that my grandfather was a teacher who read stories for the kids that lived in the village. He was a teacher at an Elementary School in the city of Mogadishu; his job was to only read books for the elementary kids. After the civil war broke out, he moved to the country side and dedicated his live to reading short story books for kids. I was very naive because I never read or wrote anything in my life. Among the kids was my cousin, who handed me a book. I held the book upside down and began flipping through the wrong pages. I was confused and frustrated that I had to close my book and just listen to the story. I became very interested in these stories, I couldn't wait for the next night to come, I still remember all the excitement and happy faces of the kids. The atmosphere was very electrifying. The first story I listened was a book that was written in Somali language, It was called "WILIKAA NAAG HA AAMININ" which meant in English (never trust a women even if she is your sister). It was about a brave and a wealthy brother who had a lot of enemies; he was so strong that he was never defeated. But the brother had a beautiful sister and he didn't wanted to see his sister around other men. When his sister reached the age of maturity she asked him if she could get married to one of his enemies, but the brother refused and told her that she will never marry him. The sister made a plot by telling his enemies how to kill her brother. She told them that the only time that her brother puts his sword on the ground is when he is milking the heaviest cow on the farm at noon; she told them that she will throw a rock at the gate and when they hear the noise it is time for the attack. The men succeeded the plot and killed her brother and she married the one she loved.

After listening to the book being read to me, I was very interested in reading; my grandfather took me to a small school near the jungle. I had trouble adapting to the new school, the teachers were very mean. They used to beat me in in the hands. I was struggling a lot; I had to learn it the hardest way. Finally I learned it and my life changed forever. Whenever I had to take the animals for a walk I used to carry a book with me and finish it the next day. It became one of my favorite hobbies. I guess my grandfather was right he said " without knowledge the world would be dark''.

In the year of 2005, my life took another twist. I was approved to come to the United States. I couldn't wait to go to school. It was a brand new live experience, I never went to an English School in my life, and the language was very hard. I had to start all over again to learn how to read. I had to take an ESL class for my first two years. Unlike my native language the English language was totally different, I was confused about the antonyms and synonyms words, the consonant and vowel sounds and much more. Although it was tough and little bit challenging, my teachers made it look easier. She used to read me aloud with a clear and soft voice; she entertained the class by doing different voices for different characters. One of the books that I was amazed with was " THE GIVING TREE by Shel Silverstein" it was a book about a very interesting relationships between a boy and tree, the boy became friend with the tree and the tree gave the boy some apple and other kinds of fruits. And then she read me a lot of other books including" GREEN EGGS AND HAM by Dr. Seuss", and "WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE" by Maurice Sendak.

The United States changed my life completely; sometimes when I remember those pictures, I feel very thankful to what this country had for me to save my life from that dangerous place. But the same time, I feel bad for those people that had died for no reason and those that have lost their parents and children. This country give me opportunity to study in college and become what ever I wanted to be. My dream is to become a computer science and help those suffering in Africa especially in Somalia. America is a country where all the dreams come true. It's the only country where you can achieve your goals and keep your freedoms. I am very fortunate to be in this great country and its honor to be a United State Citizen.