I was living a normal teenage life in South Korea and never imagined myself moving to America until I received an invitation letter for immigrant visa from my aunt who has immigrated to America when I was three years old. When I received the letter, I couldn’t believe it at first and felt as if I were flying in the air. I was aware of that getting an invitation letter for immigrant visa was not easy and I was so lucky to have it. I took it into deep consideration about immigrating to America and finally I have decided to not miss this precious chance and leave to make my dream come true.
As I mentioned earlier, I was living a normal life and there were some reasons why I decided to come to America. First, I was interested in America culture because America was the most powerful country in the world and was a fan or American drama, movie, and songs. I really liked to study English and even my favorite class at school was English class. But at some point, my level of English didn’t progress any more. Especially speaking was the biggest problem to me. Therefore, moving to America would give me a better chance to learn English more and speak English in fluently.
Furthermore, the education system in my country was horrible to me. Every day, I went to school by 8 AM, finished school at 5 PM, and went to private educational institute and studied until 8 PM. I was so tired of a life of repeating the same routine over and over and needed an exit. When I saw and heard that students are studying in a very opened environment with less pressure and stress through television, I envied them and thought.
“What if I was there in America and study with them”.
Even though there were many reason to immigrate to America, there were also some obstacles on deciding to move America because I was really excited and scared at the same time leaving my family, friends, and everything I have ever known. I would miss the way from home to school that I used to walk with my best friends every morning. I would miss the most important people in my life, family whom I could see, talk, and spend a lot of time together. I was really worried and afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get used to America life and get new friends to get along with.
As the time to go America was closer, I became busy to do something before I leave. I took a lot of pictures with family and friends to keep and remember even in America. I travelled with family for couple days to have happy memories that I could think of in the case of when I miss them. I ate all my favorite foods as much as possible because I would not taste the same in America. The hardest part to me was at the airport on the day I leave. I tried my best to hold on emotion and not to cry in front of my family, but I failed. I said, “I will miss you all, Dad! Mom! And my little sister!”
“Me too! My brother! Please be safe!” my sister answered.
“Be brave, and do your best to make your dream come true!” said my father.
“Always take care of yourself! We love you!” my mother whimpered.
My last day in my country was flooded with tears of my family including me.
I actually enjoyed riding on the airplane since it was my first time in my life. My jet lag was bothering me for some days and I was so tired from almost 25 hours’ journey with transferring two times. As soon as I got off the plane and saw a sign that says “Welcome to America”, I realized that I really came to America. I got used to live in America very soon with aunt’s support and made many friends at school.
Even though my journey wasn’t easy as planned, now I don’t regret of my decision and think my decision was right. I have learned English well with help from friends I made at school. I had to stop studying at college due to financial problem. But after I recently found that straighterline provides low cost online courses that are guaranteed to transfer to many colleges, I decided to try it and am taking some courses now. Although I miss my family and friends a lot, I still have some tasks to do. I’ll try my best to earn a bachelor's degree and get a job to make my American dream come true.
