A Whole New World by eve

A Whole New World by eve - March 2014 Scholarship Essay

"We're moving to the United States." I was eleven years old and my whole world was about to change. My mom had remarried 3 years earlier to an American man who had since been living with us in France. The move was pretty smooth, although saying goodbye to my friends and family was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I knew it would be a long time before I could see my dad and half brothers and sisters again. We moved on August fifteenth and school started the first week of September. I spoke no English. I distinctly remember on the first day of school, in my Social Studies class, the teacher pointing to all the different continents asking the kids if they knew their names and how to spell them. When he pointed to Australia, I raised my hand. With my heart beating fast, I slowly started spelling. For each letter, I would recite the alphabet in English in my head and only spoke when I got to the right letter. It was going well until I got the the letter "I" in Australia. I drew a blank. No matter how many times I repeated the alphabet in English in my head, I couldn't remember how the letter "I" was pronounced. Although I knew it would be wrong I finally just said it in French. I don't think the teacher ever realized that's what I did because the letter "I" in French sounds just like the letter "E" in English. The teacher said no, and finished spelling the word. I remember flushing in embarrassment with tears in my eyes. I knew how to spell Australia but because of the language barrier, my teacher couldn't know that. After that, I mostly sat in class trying to figure out what everyone was talking about. For the first few days, I brought a tape recorder to class and my stepfather would translate them for me when I got home.It wasn't long before I didn't need to do that anymore.

Next year will be twenty years since I moved to the United States. The crazy thing is that I can't remember what it was like to not understand the language spoken around me. I can't remember what it felt like. But I'll never forget that first day in Social Studies. By the time Christmas came around, I could speak, understand and write English fluently. I was in seventh grade that year, and the lowest grade I ever got was a C during the first quarter. At the end of the year, the school held its annual awards ceremony and I received an award in my Social Studies class for most improved student.

One of my greatest academic achievements was moving to a new country, learning a new language, discovering a new culture, making new friends in a completely new environment while never breaking stride with my academics. I didn't let the language barrier keep me from participating in school, or from getting good grades. This experience taught me to adapt quickly to new environments, it taught me to never give up and to believe in myself. Because of this experience, I know I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. And that's something I've been able to carry with me ever since.