My American Life

Katie

My American Life

When my father was young, he moved out and earned money to support his family. Fortunately for him, he got a chance to come to the United States. When he arrived in the US, he found out the United States is a pretty country. It was something he had never seen in his life. Then he thought, “My children should be here because he wanted us to know about this country”. If he hadn’t come here, we never would realize why my father always said the US is a free and fabulous country. In addition, my father’s decision made my whole life change. However, the good things always come with a price. If you want something very much, you must pay the cost. The first thing I needed to do was deal with all the changes of living in a new country. For me, America is a fantastic country because of the changes I went through like gaining independence, dealing with loneliness, and planning my future.

The first thing I gained in the United States was independence. When I was in China, I never worked, and I didn’t care about my school tuition because I relied on my parents for most things. My parents paid for my expenses because they wanted my life to be easy. However, the most important thing for them was that I study hard, get in to a good university and get a good job. These things have changed since I moved to the United States. When I started working in a restaurant, I found out how hard my parents worked. Additionally, nobody could help me do everything, such as paying for my phone bill and electricity bill. When the electricity company sent me a statement that I had to pay the bill, I was shocked because I didn’t understand how to pay it, so I asked my friends. However, they said it was easy, yet they didn’t tell me how to pay it. Thus, I realized I relied on my parents a lot and there were too many things that I had to learn now. Finally, I learned that when I paid bills or did something on my own, I did not need anybody’s help.

The second change was I felt very lonely when I came to Chicago. In China, my friends and I had the same language, and it was easy to make friends. In China, I had a group of friends and we went out during our free time. Even though we have different majors in university, we promised each other we would be best friends forever. Now that I am in the United States, I thought I would have many friends around as me in China, and I wouldn’t need new friends. When school started, I saw many people talking loudly in the classroom, except me. Then I got home, I talked with my friends on QQ. Many weeks later, I found out my friends changed because we didn’t talk too much. Sometimes, we just looked at each other on face time, but didn’t say anything. Later on, my friends told me they had made new friends and talked a lot to their new friends and went shopping without me. I was very sad because they made new friends and took pictures with each other in different places, and I was not in the photo which made me realize this is a new start, and I cannot just live in the past. I should move on and make new friends. This is a beautiful world and people make new friends all the time. The first step I had to do was open my mouth, talk with people, and to find something in common. Next, I could get many things that I wanted. The big thing I learned is whenever I go out, and I had to make an effort to meet people.

 Perhaps the most important part of all theses change is how I will plan my future. In China, I didn’t think too much about my future because I thought my parents would plan it. In addition, in turn they would help me find a job, and they would help me do everything that I want. Also, I wouldn’t care about my rent if I had a house. When I moved here, I saw how pretty this country was and when my parents asked, “do you want to go back China”, I told them absolutely no because there is tiptop treatment in the United States. For example, in the US when a person can’t find a job, the government sometimes gives them money until they find one. Also, the education is very different between America and China. I found out that some American kids become independent early in their lives. Many pay their tuition by themselves, not by their parents’ money and have part time jobs for their rent. In contrast, Chinese kids always use their parents’ money do their own things and they never work. Finally, I changed because I want to have a different life in America. Therefore, I began to make a plan for my future and how to move on to the next step.

In conclusion, my personality and lifestyle have changed since I came to Chicago. For example, I have decreased my reliance on others, and thought about making a plan for my future. I have been the United States more than three years, and I have seen my father get older than before. I plan to work and make money just like my father did in order to support my family.