Unlike my fellow classmates, growing up in a rural American town was a challenge for me. My family and I migrated to the United States when I was very young. It was a challenge for me everyday because I had to adapt to a new culture and learn a new language.
As a foreigner, I found it very difficult in meeting new people since I can't speak English language. The level of anxiety and stress associated with moving to a new country can be overwhelming and frightening, especially for someone of a young age. I can still remember, as if it were yesterday, when I first moved to America and attended school here. I was in kindergarten. During my first day of school, as I was walking into my class, the only thing I can remember was seeing how different my fellow students were from me. Even though everyone was very nice, I still felt there was a huge gap between us, largely due to my race.
My sense of anxiety and discomfort finally disappeared after my classmates started talking to me. Although it took me a while just to get used to my surroundings and understand what other students were saying to me, I adopted quickly and next thing I knew, I was communicating and playing with them.
As I grew older, my communication skill continued to grow as the years progressed. By the time I reached the sixth grade, I made more friends and was fluent in English. Thankfully I was able to keep my Chinese language also, largely because I had to speak it at home with my parents. Both of my parents knew very little English. My older brother was the only other person I would speak English to at home. Even with him, we would speak both languages at times.
Realizing my own weaknesses, I used that recognition as a motivation to improve myself everyday in every way. As of today, I continue to learn ways to further my English language skills.
As a foreigner, I found it very difficult in meeting new people since I can't speak English language. The level of anxiety and stress associated with moving to a new country can be overwhelming and frightening, especially for someone of a young age. I can still remember, as if it were yesterday, when I first moved to America and attended school here. I was in kindergarten. During my first day of school, as I was walking into my class, the only thing I can remember was seeing how different my fellow students were from me. Even though everyone was very nice, I still felt there was a huge gap between us, largely due to my race.
My sense of anxiety and discomfort finally disappeared after my classmates started talking to me. Although it took me a while just to get used to my surroundings and understand what other students were saying to me, I adopted quickly and next thing I knew, I was communicating and playing with them.
As I grew older, my communication skill continued to grow as the years progressed. By the time I reached the sixth grade, I made more friends and was fluent in English. Thankfully I was able to keep my Chinese language also, largely because I had to speak it at home with my parents. Both of my parents knew very little English. My older brother was the only other person I would speak English to at home. Even with him, we would speak both languages at times.
Realizing my own weaknesses, I used that recognition as a motivation to improve myself everyday in every way. As of today, I continue to learn ways to further my English language skills.
