Lucy and me

Reading Lucy's story made me look back to my own experience. She used to daydream about the United States' tall buildings, bridges and parks and thought these would bring her happiness. She felt sadness rather than joy for seeing something new to her sight. She did not like the atmosphere. For her, it is nothing but a place where people just come and go. She felt disappointed for witnessing the real version of her fantasy.

That's exactly what I felt when I first came here. And I think that most immigrants also felt the same. It may also depend on how a person feels about having new experiences. Some might like it, for they wanted to start a new life. Some might not, because it wasn't completely what they wanted to happen.

I have met a lot of teenagers, mostly Filipinos, too, who all asked me if I liked this place better than my home. I would always say that no place can replace my home. We all felt the same. We were all thinking that nice places and beautiful views can't make us want to stay here. But after several months, I have met some of them who quickly adopted to their new environment.

I, on the other hand, was just going along but still wishing I could come home. Like Lucy, I also felt disappointment. My family here in the U.S. convinced me to come here by comparing their life in the Philippines and their life here. They said goods and services are cheaper and better. They said they are earning more and that it's always easy to find a job. They told me about people's honesty and friendliness. They also informed me about free money for education and unemployment and getting tax returns. They've made everything sound like there's a better life here than in our country. That's what I'd believed until I have experienced life here on my own. I thought that they only said those things because for them, a better life means being able to buy new things and experiencing luxury services. Back home, I don't usually get what I want. I don't get to see famous people. I don't get to buy new clothes. But I was happy. My life here was completely different. I'm able to buy a lot of things but it doesn't really make me feel better. And I've learned that before I get those free money they were talking about, there's a lot of paperwork and waiting to do. And even if my family has these nice jobs, there's a lot of stress that comes with it. And that stress creates the never-ending family drama.

Everything just isn't what I wanted but I still want to continue because I know that I'm on the right path. If  I wouldn't make sacrifices, I know I won't get anywhere.