How My Brother From Another Mother Helped Me Fight Adversity by Brice

How My Brother From Another Mother Helped Me Fight Adversity by Brice - May 2022 Scholarship Essay

I could feel the entire class stare at me as I entered the room. “Brice, you look like you just came back from church,” one peer exclaimed before I could even sit down. In Cameroon, students, regardless of their age, dress up to school, so it only made sense that my parents would make me tuck my flannel shirt into my dress pants.

My life as a first-generation immigrant was rough at first, for lack of a better term. Everything about me was different. While all my American peers received their haircuts from professionals, I’d get my haircut by my father. I’ll never forget when my entire pre-algebra class cheered for me at the blackboard because the parabola in my problem resembled my hairline. I couldn’t play video games or go to sleepovers like the other kids. Why, mom and dad? “This is how we do it in Africa.” But we were living in America! For years, I felt so alone, and I began to dislike my own culture.

Until I met Wilfred. Wilfred Mbayu was from Cameroon just like me, and we faced the same exact struggles. Finally, I had someone I could relate to. Even though Wilfred and I complained a lot, my “brother” showed me all the amazing qualities of my Cameroonian culture. My American friends can hate soccer all they want; I think it is a wonderful sport with so many iconic moments, and (historically speaking at least) Cameroon is outstanding at it. My favorite part of my heritage is definitely the food: I can’t imagine a world where I'm not eating plantains everyday. I love the way our clothing is so detail oriented. I’m so happy Wilfred was there to help me see the light.