During the month of December, families are usually in the spirit of the holidays. Parents are busy shopping, and kids are writing letters to Santa Clause. However, in the year of 2005 my family had a burdened heart. Instead of decorating our house for Christmas, we were packing boxes in order to leave our house as soon as possible. We were not just leaving the house that held so many memories of our lives, but we were leaving our county. My parents who grew up in a small town in Colombia all their lives, never once thought living there it would become a danger to their family. Our family was menaced by a group named Guerillas; they left a letter on my dad's windshield saying that if he did not quit his job then his family would be kidnapped and murdered.
At the age of eleven, I didn't understand the consequences. I was very baffled, but I just really remember the worry on my parents' face. It was really heart breaking because everything that we owned was being thrown away, and we had less than a month to leave it all behind. Since everything happened so fast, my brother and I were sent off to my aunt's house in Georgia while my mom went to her cousin's house in Washington DC. On the other hand, my dad had to stay in Colombia for a whole other month, so he could sell the house and get rid of all of our belongings. For my parents whom have been married for 26 years, this was very hard for them to be away from each other for this long; let alone the fact that their children were far away from them, and none of us knowing if we were ever secure or not. My brother and I were so little, and sadly it affected us the most. We have come to a foreign country with only just a bag in our hands without knowing what was in store for us.
To tell the truth, I thought moving and living away from my parents was going to be the hardest part. However, I was completely wrong; I had to finish second semester of fourth grade in a country that has a complete cultural difference than mine. I remember walking in my classroom, and all eyes were on me. In all honestly, I was so worried and as soon as I walked in I wanted to turn around and hoped my life hadn't changed. With tears in my eyes, I waved goodbye to aunt. In that moment, life as I knew it was gone. The first day, everyone kept talking to me, and I had no idea what they were saying. They were speaking so fast, and I got really anxious every time I could not respond. As time went by, I realized all the kids in the playground would point at me and make jokes about me because I did not speak English. As hard as that was, class was even more difficult. I, who used to be such a great student, kept getting appalling grades. I did not comprehend the teacher or the assignments. I used to cry myself to sleep because I could not understand my homework, and my mom was not there for me to help me with it. At the end of the year, I was sent to summer school. Because of this, I started to open up more to some of the kids that were in there with me. To help me with the language, I would read a ton of books, and watch television with subtitles. I had a strong accent, but I was more comfortable with myself. Then in middle school, I had a few friends and after my English had improved so much more. My parents were now in Georgia, and got a small apartment. The four of us were finally reunited, and started to build our home once again.
Now that I am in high school, you could never guess I went through all of that. The little girl who was once too shy to speak is just a memory. Back then I would have never thought that I would say that I absolutely love living here in the United States. After all, my future is here; moving to Georgia was the best decision my parents could have made. Everything happens for a reason, and if it would not have been for that threat we would have never migrated here. I over came the fear of not knowing English, and decided to make the best out of our situation. Fortunately, I can say I improved myself over the years. I am confident. I am a straight A student. I am outspoken. My family and I have come a long way, and we have built so many things over the years. We have been more than blessed, and I would not want my life any other way. Even though my parents still struggle with the cultural difference, they are trying their best. My brother and I, in the other hand, have adjusted easily throughout the years. The fact that these seven years have been so difficult for me, I truly believe I am still improving in a positive way. Not going to lie, I still get made fun of for my accent sometimes. Also, other people make racist immigrant jokes, or even joke about my country. However, I have realized that what other people think of me it is none of my business. Whenever someone tries to bring me down, I just let it slide. To put it briefly, this is journey has not been easy, but I am proud of who I have become.
When I read your essay, I don't really understand what it has to do with the prompt. I can vaguely tell that the subject you had difficulty in was English; however, I don't think the back story which you described in the first two paragraphs was necessary. I mean, you could have briefly described why English was so difficult for you, but you wrote a lot about just the back story. I'm going to assume that this essay was for a scholarship or college. If this is so, then remember that the people who read your essay for college or scholarship admission usually get thousands of essays a day. They do not thoroughly read all of the essays. They only read a few paragraphs at the most and if that grasps their attention and answers at least part of the prompt, then they continue to read the whole essay. The first two paragraphs in your essay do not seem to address the prompt at all. While I found it interesting, I also found it unnecessary. I'm really sorry if this offended you, but I am just trying to help and be honest.
I would probably start off with saying that English was the hardest subject and then elaborate a little about the back story.
