The first day when I came to New York my dad told me that you are born again you are in the world’s best country here you can achieve anything beyond your culture and ethnicity. You just have to work hard and stay on your track nobody will ever try to cut you or try to be a hurdle in your progress it will be all you if you can’t do something that means you are missing something or you are doing it wrong therefore just be yourself work hard to achieve something then step back put someone else ahead and help them. I remember a moment that happened in my life back in 2004.
“Oh No, I made a big mistake. I was hiding under a bunk made up of marbles. I thought, “God saves me. I promise I will not do that again. But oh my God this is the best Banana I had ever eaten It tastes like heaven When I took the first bite I felt like I was taking a bite of soft and sweet jelly. I was 6 yrs old. The school was over now time to go home. I was very hungry and I knew there is no food at home and thinking about that makes me more hungry. As I walked down the street I saw a man selling bananas and oranges. When I looked at the banana the taste of banana came into my mouth. But when I put my hand in my pocket there was no money. My pants pocket was ripped from inside. I knew that I don’t have money. But the way I was looking at the banana was the same as I saw a beautiful girl. I couldn’t able to take my eyes off from that banana the banana seems to me like a banana is calling me and saying come eat me I know you are hungry.
My family was financially poor. Now I was hiding and I ate a banana. I was still hungry. Then I went to my home and hide under the bed. My mom asked me what happened are ok I didn’t answer. I was a little poor guy. Who was hungry 6 yrs old don’t know what to do, When you feel hungry. My dad beat me very badly. I was very badly injured my bones were hurting till one week. Then the very next morning my dad came into the room and take me to the farm. Overthere he told me why he beat me last night. He told me about the work that he does in an office. The work is very hard to do.
He didn’t tell me properly what he does because he doesn’t want his children to feel any kind of discrimination from the people around us. He told me that he was depressed and worried about the future that he wanted to send his children to the best school but he can’t due to poverty he said poverty teach him a lot. I asked like what dad?. He said right now I am poor I know which people want me to get success and I also know the people who were happy when they see me in trouble like my brother’s. He said the people who are poor but they still have people around them who care about poor people are the luckiest people. Poverty makes you a more hard-working person it makes you do any kind of work. I knew that he loves me a lot not because I am the oldest in my siblings it is because he knew that whatever he is saying to me he is never going to forget it. That day I learned a lot from my dad.
I saw my dad working very very hard in the hot summer. I saw my dad working in a freezing winter without a sweater on. I know nothing is impossible in this world if a man sticks to his plan and stays focused he can achieve whatever he wants to achieve in his life. My dad taught me that if I work hard and become a successful man in life then I can work in a good office like in the winter my room will be warm and in summer my room will be cold. Therefore since that day every day when I woke up, I ask myself a question that what I’m gonna do today with my life am I gonna waste my whole day or I will do something productive that will get me closer to my success that I want to achieve every night when I go to bed I ask myself that what I did today I will do better than that tomorrow.
– I liked your essay because of your educational journey began from your father and it doesn’t seem “typical” in the sense that you didn’t write about school as your education narrative.
– What I got from reading your work is that you connect scenarios back to the original point.
– I found the part of poverty interesting because it’s true that a lot of people who are POC aren’t financially stable and face a lot of discrimination in the world that makes folks look at us differently.
– I got confused at the part where you talked about the banana because I think the banana was pivotal in your writing and it’d be good if you put more emphasis on it, and how it relates to your financial status.
– I want to learn more about the lessons your father taught you to shape you into the man you are today. They say our parents are our first teachers, so tell us more about them.
My overall comment is that this essay is written nicely and my favorite quote from it is, “I saw my dad working very very hard in the hot summer. I saw my dad working in a freezing winter without a sweater on.” I think there’s so much love your father has for you and his family that he’ll work in different weather conditions to make a life for you.
Thanks Zainab. I will try my level best to add the thing in my Essay that you told me to add.