“It’s time to go now, Rohit. We’ll be late for our flight”, my dad whispered in my ear. “Okay,” I groaned as I looked back and waved one last time to the friends and family who had come to drop us off at the airport. It was finally time to say goodbye to the life I knew, to the life I loved, and to step into a new unknown… again! I had gone through the ordeal of moving to another country when I was seven, and now I was experiencing a sense of deja vu as a fourteen-year old. This time, however, I was moving to America from India instead of the other way around. Although my extended family exclaimed with joy at all the opportunities in America, moving to a new country terrified me. Naturally, I discussed my worries with my parents. My father
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After being taunted for my thick Indian accent and labeled a nerd, I walked pessimistically into my history class. There, a Hispanic girl undertook the responsibility of describing all the racial stereotypes in America. As she explained Mexicans were stereotyped for jumping across the border, I asked her if she knew anyone who had jumped the wall, and she yelled “The new kid is a racist!” in response to my innocent question in the most loathsome tone I had ever heard. When my parents inquired about school, I suffered an emotional breakdown and sobbed uncontrollably- something I hadn’t done in ages. Everything that transpired that day would not have occurred if we hadn’t moved. I would still be playing soccer (football in India) in the narrow streets, buying buttermilk after a long and tiresome game, and enjoying Hindi movies with inseparable …show more content…
Through these pitfalls and stumbles, I learned more about myself than I ever had before. These hardships emboldened me to become a unique amalgam of a soccer lover, debater, chess player, mathlete, and leader all molded into one body in a bustling school of 4000 students. I assimilated quickly- I speak “American”, I think “American”, I believe “American”- but I am, and forever will be, influenced by the inner Indian that courses through my veins. I may listen to Drake’s new album, but that doesn’t stop me from listening to the latest Bollywood music. I am immersed in the American technological world, but I still spend time with family. The difficulties I faced prepared me to overcome future difficulties. For instance, overwhelmed with the problems of finding a sponsor and raising funds to buy equipment, I struggled to start a chess club at my school, but I persevered until I eventually formed one. Today, this chess club has won numerous USCF and AIA tournaments, and is one of the most successful in the state. Furthermore, after being denied a job at Mathnasium, I started my own tutoring business, through which I have had a much stronger impact on students’ intellectual development in addition to making much more money. When I first moved, I was angry, frustrated, dejected, and fettered by the chains of conformity. Today, these
After being taunted for my thick Indian accent and labeled a nerd, I walked pessimistically into my history class. There, a Hispanic girl undertook the responsibility of describing all the racial stereotypes in America. As she explained Mexicans were stereotyped for jumping across the border, I asked her if she knew anyone who had jumped the wall, and she yelled “The new kid is a racist!” in response to my innocent question in the most loathsome tone I had ever heard. When my parents inquired about school, I suffered an emotional breakdown and sobbed uncontrollably- something I hadn’t done in ages. Everything that transpired that day would not have occurred if we hadn’t moved. I would still be playing soccer (football in India) in the narrow streets, buying buttermilk after a long and tiresome game, and enjoying Hindi movies with inseparable …show more content…
Through these pitfalls and stumbles, I learned more about myself than I ever had before. These hardships emboldened me to become a unique amalgam of a soccer lover, debater, chess player, mathlete, and leader all molded into one body in a bustling school of 4000 students. I assimilated quickly- I speak “American”, I think “American”, I believe “American”- but I am, and forever will be, influenced by the inner Indian that courses through my veins. I may listen to Drake’s new album, but that doesn’t stop me from listening to the latest Bollywood music. I am immersed in the American technological world, but I still spend time with family. The difficulties I faced prepared me to overcome future difficulties. For instance, overwhelmed with the problems of finding a sponsor and raising funds to buy equipment, I struggled to start a chess club at my school, but I persevered until I eventually formed one. Today, this chess club has won numerous USCF and AIA tournaments, and is one of the most successful in the state. Furthermore, after being denied a job at Mathnasium, I started my own tutoring business, through which I have had a much stronger impact on students’ intellectual development in addition to making much more money. When I first moved, I was angry, frustrated, dejected, and fettered by the chains of conformity. Today, these