There are many achievements a person can accomplish in his or her lifetime that he or she will remember forever. For me, it certainly is being a American. It has been a while since I've achieved this, but I began working towards this goal back in the rural state of Punjab in India. I was inspired by the images that came on the English television channels. I wanted to be like the people I saw there. I would dream of speaking like them and living in a place like the ones on TV.
I got my break when my dad applied for our visa and it was accepted. In 2003, I came form the land of the Five Rivers to the Garden State. This is a culture shock to most people but not me. In fact, I had been anticipating this moment for a long time. This was probably one of the happiest moments of my life.
Being in American was not enough, though. I had a long way to go. I wanted to be a regular American kid. I wanted to speak like my peers and eat like them also. I had the dreams, but I barely spoke enough of the language to make them come true.
I asked myself how could I possibly learn this language. This is when I decided to fall back on what started my dream. I started watching a lot of American television. I used characters like Fez off That 70's Show to guide me since he was in similar circumstances. I also decided that I had to speak more to learn more, so I talked a lot in class at school. I would say random stuff to my classmates that I picked up from the TV. I knew I was making progress because I got their attention. They were paying attention to me, not only because of my strong accent, but because we enjoyed some the same TV shows.
I feel I have accomplished this goal now. I know this because not too long ago, my sister and the rest of my family said I was too American. This would be a insult to some people because they think that losing their traditional values is like the end of the world. I loved hearing this, though, because this was how I knew my hard work had paid off. I have no accent fit in with my classmates at school perfectly now. Most of them think that I was born in the US and are surprised when I tell them I was born in a village in India. Have I mentioned how much I love a good burger and pizza?
I got my break when my dad applied for our visa and it was accepted. In 2003, I came form the land of the Five Rivers to the Garden State. This is a culture shock to most people but not me. In fact, I had been anticipating this moment for a long time. This was probably one of the happiest moments of my life.
Being in American was not enough, though. I had a long way to go. I wanted to be a regular American kid. I wanted to speak like my peers and eat like them also. I had the dreams, but I barely spoke enough of the language to make them come true.
I asked myself how could I possibly learn this language. This is when I decided to fall back on what started my dream. I started watching a lot of American television. I used characters like Fez off That 70's Show to guide me since he was in similar circumstances. I also decided that I had to speak more to learn more, so I talked a lot in class at school. I would say random stuff to my classmates that I picked up from the TV. I knew I was making progress because I got their attention. They were paying attention to me, not only because of my strong accent, but because we enjoyed some the same TV shows.
I feel I have accomplished this goal now. I know this because not too long ago, my sister and the rest of my family said I was too American. This would be a insult to some people because they think that losing their traditional values is like the end of the world. I loved hearing this, though, because this was how I knew my hard work had paid off. I have no accent fit in with my classmates at school perfectly now. Most of them think that I was born in the US and are surprised when I tell them I was born in a village in India. Have I mentioned how much I love a good burger and pizza?