I came to the U.S. five years ago. It was a brand new place in my life. I started with a brand new language, made brand new friends, and had a brand new lifestyle. I was scared and nervous. Left my country where I lived for about 13 years. I didn’t prepare for anything yet, because nobody tells me before about I will go to America. It all happens in one day, I left school and my dad told me we will go to finish our papers and move to another country, the United State of America. So when I was here. It was in the middle of the summer vacation. I have to tell you that was the worst summer I never had. I had no friends, no electronics, no toys, and no even a book. I almost went crazy, almost.

Then, the school started. I went to my first and last school in this country, Park Slope Collegiate. I made friends there and I also created a lot of jokes. And I felt the exactly same as Jamilia Lyscoutt. As she said in her poem, ” While I use the other one in the classroom. And when I mistakenly mixed them up, I feel crazy…like cooking in the bathroom.” I started thinking maybe I shouldn’t be here, maybe this is never a place I belong to. However, people treat me very kindly. I always feel glad to be friends with them. So, besides sitting here and do nothing.  I decided to study very hard in English. And I never feel ashamed about I speak bad English. Actually I feel proud of it because that means I learning a new language and I succeed. I didn’t even know how I do it. It just like one day I start to speak nicely in English. I talk more and more with all my friends. I join the conversation more and more often. I was cold at the beginning because I don’t know how to talk to people. I worried about did I say something wrong all the time. I overthinking about maybe people laugh at me behind and I would never know. All of them ever happened. My friends, my books, my notes, and my studies. They warm my heart again.

Even right now. I still feel like all of this is a dream. Maybe when I wake up, I will turn back to a little boy who belongs to that little town. Who always makes a lot of noise in class and makes teachers mad. Who always create troubles. However, dream just a dream. When the dream ends, I start to realize my world already changed.  When I first time said ” Hello” to this land.