By definition, I certainly classify as a New American, yet I take trouble with the word new. I’ve always been an American even when I legally wasn’t. I became a naturalized U.S citizen at the age of sixteen two days before Christmas. Unbeknownst to me, I was a legal resident until I was awoken one morning and told to head downtown, sign a document, take an oath, and head back home for dinner. — What do you mean I wasn’t American? I said dumbfounded, for I knew no other home but the United States. Despite being born in Armenia and raised within an Armenian enclave in California, I was fully indoctrinated with American ideals. My cultural heritage and identity was undoubtedly Armenian American until that came into question when we moved into
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To put it briefly, I was stabbed and beaten by gang members in high school for merely being Armenian. I left that public school for a better one, where the cycle of fear and anxiety diminished (somewhat). Being discriminated for being Armenian by others at the same time ostracized by Armenians for not being Armenian enough left me feeling more isolated and depressed. Luckily, I sought refuge in sports and studies. In sports, I was second to none in my high school swim team (at least in my district), and I practiced a disciplined routine in bodybuilding. In academia, I flourished in advanced mathematics and excelled in the sciences. It was hard to imagine that before all this, I was illiterate in the English language until the age of 12. That might explain why I had trouble convincing my counselor that I was competent enough to take on AP and honors courses. Though I was only permitted to take a limited number of them, I passed at the top of my class in all. Their doubts may had something to do with it. To my sheer happiness, my growing trend in academia carried into college, which earned me two honor awards despite my previous dispositions. I went from an at-risk student to a model college student thanks in part to caring individuals from high school and
To put it briefly, I was stabbed and beaten by gang members in high school for merely being Armenian. I left that public school for a better one, where the cycle of fear and anxiety diminished (somewhat). Being discriminated for being Armenian by others at the same time ostracized by Armenians for not being Armenian enough left me feeling more isolated and depressed. Luckily, I sought refuge in sports and studies. In sports, I was second to none in my high school swim team (at least in my district), and I practiced a disciplined routine in bodybuilding. In academia, I flourished in advanced mathematics and excelled in the sciences. It was hard to imagine that before all this, I was illiterate in the English language until the age of 12. That might explain why I had trouble convincing my counselor that I was competent enough to take on AP and honors courses. Though I was only permitted to take a limited number of them, I passed at the top of my class in all. Their doubts may had something to do with it. To my sheer happiness, my growing trend in academia carried into college, which earned me two honor awards despite my previous dispositions. I went from an at-risk student to a model college student thanks in part to caring individuals from high school and