The Catalyst by Elsabeth

The Catalyst by Elsabeth - May 2021 Scholarship Essay

My family uprooted their lives to come to America in pursuit of better education and quality of life for me and my siblings. Moving from Ethiopia to the United States presented many personal hardships. After coming to America, my family fell apart. As our lifestyle began to change tensions rose between my parents eventually leading to divorce. Others would be devastated about the divorce, but I was happy because I finally gained peace from all the arguing and violence that arose between my parents.
Besides my family falling apart, I was also facing challenges with assimilating to American customs and society. For example, I had to choose the kind of style of clothing to wear to school because in Ethiopia I wore uniforms to school. My ESL teacher, Mrs. White, noticed my uniform, so she assumed I had no clothes and took me to the resource center at my school for donated clothes.

I also had to face the language barrier between me, the teacher, and other students, so there were miscommunications. I felt isolated and not understood. At the same time, I was also experiencing discrimination, for example, one time when I was at the library in my high school, my Ethiopian friend and I were discussing “Edere”. Edere happens every month where Ethiopian communities gather to collect money in case of family emergencies. Suddenly, the librarian came to us and said “You don't get enough sleep because your parents drink and smoke all night.” For a moment I couldn't move because I was in shock. I keep asking myself, what is the reason behind this? Is it because of my skin color he assumed my parents are alcoholic? Words run out of my mouth. He offered to take us to the school therapist. For a slight moment I had allowed someone to make me feel so worthless, I was hurt. My friend and I left the library to report this incident to the principal. She didn’t seem surprised, her response was “We will do more investigation.” The next day my friend and I were called to the office, when we got there the librarian was there with our principal. She made him apologize to us for his assumption. This one of the many examples of racial discrimination that I have faced.

Education in America has changed who I am by giving me opportunities like free schooling, tutors at my local library, and internships that matched my interest like Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code, and Fred Hutchinson Summer Internship. I also would like to explore my interest in computer science. I don’t regret that I came to America because America can offer me the life that I wish to have for the future and the life I deserve to live. I feel excited because I know that I have changed and learned a lot in the past six years. Every day might still be a battle, but I am working towards my future and my dreams.

I learned to be resilient through facing discrimination, and by having a support network. I have learned to embrace my ethnic culture and be proud which I came from. One of my goals is to meet other young students of color and build a support network that helps students that are facing discrimination.
Throughout all the obstacles, I learned that hardships serve as an opportunity for me to learn and grow. Having support of others that were going through the same situation as I was a big part of how I learned to live through the discrimination. It's really important having friends that can help me get through the tough days. Along with the obstacles came self-doubt which almost stopped me from achieving the goals and dreams that I had since I stepped foot in America. I plan on continuing to be resilient and working hard to overcome other hardships and challenges.