Moving To America Personal Statement

Gazing out of the airplane window, I saw the words Mei Guo— “beautiful country” in Chinese—painted on the airport terminal. My mother and I immigrated to America when I was a small child from Taishan, China. She aimed to remove me from a life where society would limit my options and ostracize me due to my father’s blindness from Retinitis Pigmentosa and the family’s lack of proper education. My father was willing to let go of his only child because he, too, knew it would open infinite opportunities for me to succeed. Though my new life in America seemed prosperous at first, I soon realized I needed to create opportunities for myself despite our lack of resources.

Our first dwelling in America seemed like a castle—indoor plumbing was a luxury I never knew existed when living in a Chinese village, where the bathrooms were built above a pond. To simply use the restroom, one had to shoo away swarms of bugs while making sure not to fall in the pond underneath, where armies of starving fish awaited. Comparatively, my American life seemed upper class, but soon, I realized that my peers had a much different way of life. While I focused on keeping a steady paycheck through numerous after-school jobs, to contribute to rent, my classmates were concerned about finding time to meet with private tutors between music and sports. While I sought fulfilment from volunteer opportunities that helped those who had even less than me, my friends were sent to programs and activities that cost more than my mother’s monthly paycheck.
I diligently sought help from teachers during office hours, I took advantage of free lessons offered at libraries, and I turned to online videos to review for exams. Most of all, I am grateful to have been able to stay on-par academically with everyone