As a little boy who grew up in a small town of Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, I had different expectations when it comes to the American lifestyle. Every immigrant has some sort of vision for their new life in America. For me, I wanted to be a famous soccer player or a well know heart surgeon. Everyone knows that something good in life does not come easy, but that did not matter for a naïve ten year old who believed in a happily after. “The American Dream is intangible and it will never be achieved just gives hope to the people who chase it.
In Ethiopia, I had nothing to look forward to not just because Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world, but because the people there lost hope to survive and better them. When my family decided to come to America I was going to 9th grade. I passed my minstery high school entrance exam, equivalent to the HSA here, and was ready to embark the new phase of my life. After we were sure of coming to America, I began dreaming about my life here and how awesome it would be. I saw myself with lots of money, cars, houses, and girls just like the rapper or movie stars we get to see on the weekends on my neighbors TV.
I thought when we get here my “rich uncle will buy us a house and my mom will get a job and me my brother will go to nice private high school. One can only dream, however when reality hits you in the face then you learn a dream does not become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. When it comes to my family reality drowned us, my mom could not find a job for over a year, we had to live in a small one bedroom apartment with my aunt where me and my brother slept on the floor in order to go school in the morning.
Life was so suffocating that my mom almost decided to go back to Ethiopia and just give up. Fast track to 2014, my senior year of high school. I have wait for this day since I came here. Even though my dreams of becoming a famous soccer player or a well know heart surgeon has not yet came true I believe the expectations of America I had when I was ten years old motivates me to get up and push myself to the extreme limit till I achieve my dream and become successful.
As Harriet Tubman once said, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. I want to change the world not just for me but for the friends and family member I left back home, however in order to do that I need the help of people who are derived with fearless ideas and motivated just like I am.
