I left Nigeria on the 7th of April, 2019. Everyone was happy for me and my mom for different reasons. I had my own reasons. I was happy because I was coming to America; a land filled with opportunities. I was happy that I would no longer need to communicate my days and achievements with my dad through a phone. I did not ignore the fact that it is not going to be an easy task for a kid coming from Africa, even though this is the 21st century. I came here with good grades; a GPA of 3.8, 20+ credits as a sophomore, as I explained to them that I was an achieving student, yet they did not mention anything like AP classes to me. Thankfully, God sent a fellow student to enlighten my ignorance. I got transferred into the AP classes. I wanted to transfer to an AP English class, but my counselors didn’t approve of it. They thought I would not do well if I took an AP English class. I have always wondered if they made that judgement based on my nationality. My first day in English class, Macbeth was read. I read Macbeth in middle school in Nigeria and I understood it. The teacher asked me a question openly to explain a particular scene. As I answered her question, I noticed three kids laughing beside me. I paid closer attention to hear them, and they were laughing at my accent and pronunciations. I tried to keep it together until I got on the bus and cried. I was taken aback by what I experienced that day and self doubt had kicked in. I kept asking myself, “Is this America?”. New words started to show up in my dictionary. I had never heard of depression, insecurities, fat-shaming before I came here. I realized the shocking difference between both cultures. I began to feel lonely. My parents were always working, I didn’t have friends, my confidence went down, and the culture was too different to adapt to. I told my parents about it and they encouraged me to stay strong and prove myself to them. And I did! I stopped caring about what people thought of my accent, my skin blemishes or my unpolished nails. Soon, I realized how expensive the cost of living is in America. I began to appreciate my parents even more for raising me with the basic necessities and for giving me a proper moral upbringing. I told myself that I didn’t want my family to remain in this position. I want to be free financially and in all ramifications of life. I want my parents to finally rest for a job well done in raising me. I want to be able to thank them for this big opportunity they have given to me. At first, it felt like a punishment, but now, I am just grateful. All these have motivated me to do well in school. I love to see the smile on their faces and hearing the sound of joy in their voice when I bring home an award or an excellent test result. I don’t want that smile to ever fade away. That is why I will keep fighting and doing my best to make them proud. I recently got admitted to Arizona State University. I intend on majoring in Biological Sciences. After that, I plan to proceed to medical school. I aspire to be a medical doctor. I understand how unfair the health care system in the U.S is to black people.

I left Nigeria on the 7th of April, 2019. Everyone was happy for me and my mom for different reasons. I had my own reasons. I was happy because I was coming to America; a land filled with opportunities. I was happy that I would no longer need to communicate my days and achievements with my dad through a phone. I did not ignore the fact that it is not going to be an easy task for a kid coming from Africa, even though this is the 21st century. I came here with good grades; a GPA of 3.8, 20+ credits as a sophomore, as I explained to them that I was an achieving student, yet they did not mention anything like AP classes to me. Thankfully, God sent a fellow student to enlighten my ignorance. I got transferred into the AP classes. I wanted to transfer to an AP English class, but my counselors didn’t approve of it. They thought I would not do well if I took an AP English class. I have always wondered if they made that judgement based on my nationality. My first day in English class, Macbeth was read. I read Macbeth in middle school in Nigeria and I understood it. The teacher asked me a question openly to explain a particular scene. As I answered her question, I noticed three kids laughing beside me. I paid closer attention to hear them, and they were laughing at my accent and pronunciations. I tried to keep it together until I got on the bus and cried. I was taken aback by what I experienced that day and self doubt had kicked in. I kept asking myself, “Is this America?”. New words started to show up in my dictionary. I had never heard of depression, insecurities, fat-shaming before I came here. I realized the shocking difference between both cultures. I began to feel lonely. My parents were always working, I didn’t have friends, my confidence went down, and the culture was too different to adapt to. I told my parents about it and they encouraged me to stay strong and prove myself to them. And I did! I stopped caring about what people thought of my accent, my skin blemishes or my unpolished nails. Soon, I realized how expensive the cost of living is in America. I began to appreciate my parents even more for raising me with the basic necessities and for giving me a proper moral upbringing. I told myself that I didn’t want my family to remain in this position. I want to be free financially and in all ramifications of life. I want my parents to finally rest for a job well done in raising me. I want to be able to thank them for this big opportunity they have given to me. At first, it felt like a punishment, but now, I am just grateful. All these have motivated me to do well in school. I love to see the smile on their faces and hearing the sound of joy in their voice when I bring home an award or an excellent test result. I don’t want that smile to ever fade away. That is why I will keep fighting and doing my best to make them proud.

I left Nigeria on the 7th of April, 2019. Everyone was happy for me and my mom for different reasons. I had my own reasons. I was happy because I was coming to America; a land filled with opportunities. I was happy that I would no longer need to communicate my days and achievements with my dad through a phone. I did not ignore the fact that it is not going to be an easy task for a kid coming from Africa, even though this is the 21st century. I came here with good grades; a GPA of 3.8, 20+ credits as a sophomore, as I explained to them that I was an achieving student, yet they did not mention anything like AP classes to me. Thankfully, God sent a fellow student to enlighten my ignorance. I got transferred into the AP classes. I wanted to transfer to an AP English class, but my counselors didn’t approve of it. They thought I would not do well if I took an AP English class. I have always wondered if they made that judgement based on my nationality. My first day in English class, Macbeth was read. I read Macbeth in middle school in Nigeria and I understood it. The teacher asked me a question openly to explain a particular scene. As I answered her question, I noticed three kids laughing beside me. I paid closer attention to hear them, and they were laughing at my accent and pronunciations. I tried to keep it together until I got on the bus and cried. I was taken aback by what I experienced that day and self doubt had kicked in. I kept asking myself, “Is this America?”. New words started to show up in my dictionary. I had never heard of depression, insecurities, fat-shaming before I came here. I realized the shocking difference between both cultures. I began to feel lonely. My parents were always working, I didn’t have friends, my confidence went down, and the culture was too different to adapt to. I told my parents about it and they encouraged me to stay strong and prove myself to them. And I did! I stopped caring about what people thought of my accent, my skin blemishes or my unpolished nails. Soon, I realized how expensive the cost of living is in America. I began to appreciate my parents even more for raising me with the basic necessities and for giving me a proper moral upbringing. I told myself that I didn’t want my family to remain in this position. I want to be free financially and in all ramifications of life. I want my parents to finally rest for a job well done in raising me. I want to be able to thank them for this big opportunity they have given to me. At first, it felt like a punishment, but now, I am just grateful. All these have motivated me to do well in school. I love to see the smile on their faces and hearing the sound of joy in their voice when I bring home an award or an excellent test result. I don’t want that smile to ever fade away. This is why I will keep fighting and doing my best to make them proud.