New Life (If you have better title, plz write in comments :-)
I was 9 when my father left me for U.S. Since then I lived with my mother in China, for 5 years. I spent most time doing school work and my grades are pretty good. After going to high school for a month with a broken ankle, I dropped out of high school and came to U.S. with my mother to start a new life.
It was a 14 hour flight. On the plane, I realized that there are too many things I have lost so much. I will not have a big dinner with my family at Chinese New Year’s Eve. I will not play fire crackers with my cousin at Chinese New Year. I will not have vacation at Chinese New Year. I will not have mooncakes for mid-autumn festival. I will not play video games with my friends...
After a few naps, we reached John F. Kennedy International Airport.
As I look above, the sky is azure blue. I could hardly see that sky color in China because of pollution resulted from rapid industrialization. After picking up luggages, when we walked out of lobby, I saw my father waving to us. It’s a reunion after 5 years. Then we moved our luggages to our apartment in Staten Island. Before going to bed, we got online to tell relatives that we arrived safely.
The next day, I was walking in a mall, saw many stores selling various merchandise. And there was a eyebrow threading place looks really appealing to me. They plucked hair with just a thin cotton thread. And there was a stall selling old video game console. There was Super Mario which I used to play with my friends. I played a few rounds with a girl. She was surprised when I told her I came here yesterday.
2 months later, I started to go to school at Port Richmond High School. I was in grade 10 in China. But the first grade of high school in U.S. is grade 9. So I was downgraded. First day of school, it doesn’t feel like home.
I knew that the obstacles that I had to go through would be burdensome. Indeed, I have experienced a language barrier which is the greatest challenge in my life.
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Corrections · 5
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谢谢 :D
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看完了，好励志。查了好多字典。
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Thanks for reading the long essay. I am looking for native English speakers and great writers since I need help with essays. If you have any questions with Chinese language and culture, feel free to add my QQ 943688471 or drop me an email [email protected] I am glad to help you with Chinese language and culture :D
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The sophomore year, I was placed into regular English class although I still have trouble reading novels and writing essays. That year, I took Chemistry and I got 100 on Chemistry Regents. My Chemistry teacher has been teaching for 20 years. I am the only student who got 100 on Regents.
The junior year, I took Physics which I am really good at and I had a great physics teacher. But I transferred to Francis Lewis High School due to my father’s work change. My family moved to Queens. However, I was placed into AP psychology which I had not even applied for. I didn’t do well in that class since there are many words I don’t understand.
The senior year, I took AP Calculus BC and AP physics, I got 5 on both AP exams. I also got 3 800s on SAT subject tests which are Math, Physics and Chemistry. Then I applied to colleges and ended up in Stony Brook and competing with all the brilliant people.
My new life is not as easy as my past life. However, my favorite quote of Bruce Lee is, "Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one."
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I remember my first class was ESL beginner. It was simplest English class. The class is about basic words and grammar. There was a Korean guy I met in class. He typed in my electronic dictionary: I am going to kick your butt. However, we became good friends later and he helped me a lot. The next class is biology. I took biology in China, but I still couldn’t understand what the teacher says. The only thing I can do is copying notes from board. The last class of the day is Algebra. This is the subject that I had no problem with. All the questions are junior high school level for me. Maybe even easier. The teacher said I am a genius. The teacher was funny. I didn’t learn anything new but I liked that class. My Math teacher let me take both Algebra and Geometry and I ended up scoring 100 on both of them. But it didn’t surprise me. What surprised me is that I was the first person ever got 100 on regents.
To overcome the language barrier, I worked assiduously. I know the best way to learn a language is to be immersed in it. Therefore, I determined myself to keep listening, watching English videos, looking up words in my dictionary, and trying to talk to other people; not long thereafter I could already see my improvement. I gradually started understanding and being able to communicate with others, and consequently, I gradually started understanding and adapting to the culture.
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