Being an immigrant from a country experiencing issues like health outbreaks, an unjust government, and a disastrous economy has had a negative impact on my education here in the United states. I came from Ethiopia to Minnesota when I was seven years old and at the time mass shootings operated by the government were a norm in Ethiopia. I remember walking to school with my sister and hearing gunshots in the distance followed by adults dragging us into their houses for protection. I also remember watching the news and seeing protesters getting beat with batons by soldiers. Life was extremely difficult for both my parents and I. Now that I am in America, I am thankful everyday that my sister, parents and I escaped the horrid reality of living in Ethiopia. However, migrating to America required an immense amount of sacrifices. I had to leave behind my family, my friends, and what I knew to be normal and enter this new world. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends unfortunately are still experiencing the events going on in Ethiopia. My grandpa passed away in 2009 due to the lack of healthcare he received. His death was followed by my aunt who was shot by a government official while attending school. Events like these have affected my parents and I greatly. Given the bad economy in Ethiopia, my parents and I work many hours to send money to Ethiopia in order to help pay bills and put food on the table In addition to supporting a family of seven here in the states. School supplies were hard to come by each year. Sports and other extracurricular activities that required payment was extremely hard for me to be apart of. I was bullied throughout elementary school because I was wearing hand me downs from goodwill and off brand shoes. This made it hard for me to adjust to the American culture which was completely different than the Ethiopian culture I was accustomed to. I was also discouraged by my peers because of my very strong accent and lack of communication skills. All of this discouragement and negative attention my peers gave me hindered my ability to do well in in elementary school and most of middle school. As I grew older and adjusted to the American way of life I continued to face
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When I entered high school I got a job to help my parents pay the bills and send money to my family in Ethiopia. My parents were working 40 plus hours a week to support an immediate family of 7 and over 30 relatives in Ethiopia. Me getting a job was a tremendous relief for them. I was dedicated to working about 30 hours a week and this took both an emotional and physical toll on me. I woke up at 7am each day to go too school followed by a two hour soccer practice, then a seven hour shift at Caribou Coffee, followed by hours of homework and studying. It was hard to balance life as I was trying to maintain good grades, build my college resume by being involved, paying bills, and spending time with family and friends. There were many instances in high school where things became too difficult and in went though many depression phases which has costed me relationships with teachers, friends, and family members. Despite all of this hard work my mother was constantly crying because there was never enough money to send overseas and support our family here in
When I entered high school I got a job to help my parents pay the bills and send money to my family in Ethiopia. My parents were working 40 plus hours a week to support an immediate family of 7 and over 30 relatives in Ethiopia. Me getting a job was a tremendous relief for them. I was dedicated to working about 30 hours a week and this took both an emotional and physical toll on me. I woke up at 7am each day to go too school followed by a two hour soccer practice, then a seven hour shift at Caribou Coffee, followed by hours of homework and studying. It was hard to balance life as I was trying to maintain good grades, build my college resume by being involved, paying bills, and spending time with family and friends. There were many instances in high school where things became too difficult and in went though many depression phases which has costed me relationships with teachers, friends, and family members. Despite all of this hard work my mother was constantly crying because there was never enough money to send overseas and support our family here in