Name: Jeronimo Echavarria

October 7, 2024 

Freshman Composition (ENGL 110)

Professor Rose 

Written Language and Literacy Narrative 

     Nos vamos para Estados Unidos 

“Nos vamos para Estados Unidos!!” my mom blurts out while we are in the beautiful streets of Medellín, Colombia. Obviously, I didn’t believe her one bit, but she said it in such a tone that made me start questioning if maybe she was serious after all. You see, my parents started working on getting our resident visa way before I was even born, specifically in the year 2001. My parents were supposed to get their visa in 2003, but it was extremely delayed after the 9/11 attacks. This takes me back to 2013, when my parents finally got accepted for their visa. The process got delayed a whopping 12 years, which took a huge toll on my parents mentally. I wish I was able to recreate the look on my mom’s face when she finally got the news. The way she stared at that email made me think we won the lottery or something. From the moment we got back home, she was already considering quitting her job and moving to the United States the very next week; and that’s exactly what we did.

I remember when I first arrived here in the United States at 7 years old and felt something so weird—being an outsider. The feeling of not knowing anything in a new country was just so scary, but it motivated me to take my family ahead and beat any obstacles that came with it. During my very first days of elementary school, I was placed in a program specifically for kids with no English experience. This was very significant to me because it made me realize that I wasn’t the only kid feeling the same way as me—being an outsider.

My favorite experience when practicing  English at a young age was a fairly funny one. In my last year of elementary school, I, for some reason, decided to join the acting club in my school. Mind you, at that time I didn’t even know enough English to get around by myself, just the ABCs and the things they teach little kids. I vividly remember the little friends I had in the program telling me, “Now, Jero, para que te vas a poner a hacer todo eso,” basically telling me not to join and that I would embarrass myself. For some weird reason, I kinda liked that they told me that. Something about people doubting me or not believing in me just brought something out of me that I can’t explain. However, I decided to join the club. We did a total of 4 plays throughout the year, but I only participated in one of them, which was the very last one we did.

There was a character called Thomas, who was the shy kid of the play who just stuck around with his friends without saying a word, and in some weird coincidence, the character was exactly how I was in real life. Although he only had 2 lines in total, I decided to pick this role because of how much he resembled me as a person. I wouldn’t realize how much of an impact those 2 lines would have on me until the day of the play arrived. When the time came for those 2 lines and I saw the auditorium completely packed, my heart dropped. Although I was only saying 2 lines, I started thinking in my head, “What will they think once they hear my accent? Will they laugh at me?” A range of emotions traveled through my head. But once I said my lines, I realized that there was no odd reaction at all. At the end of the play, even though I only had 2 lines, I felt like the main character. That was my first major experience with the English language, and it is one that I will never forget.

There is one person that I give major credit to who helped me a lot: my first ever official English teacher, Mrs. Colon, who was also Hispanic, being one—if not the main—reason why I am able to understand and speak English today. She was basically my best friend. I learned that she also came to this country at a very young age like me, so she was able to understand how I felt when I used to rant to her about how horrible my day was because I wasn’t able to understand anyone. All those moments I shared with her will always have a special place in my heart, and whenever I—if I do—ever see her again, I will let her know how important she was to me and show her how much better my English has gotten.

To summarize  all the years after that: making friends was tricky too. I didn’t always get what the other kids were talking about. I’d laugh along at jokes even though I didn’t understand them, just trying to fit in. But my parents always reminded me why we came here—to have a better life. So, I pushed through. I watched cartoons in English, practiced with my classmates who also had the same struggle, and little by little, things started to click. Those years were tough. My parents had worked so hard to get here, but starting from scratch in a new country was overwhelming. Still, looking back, it taught me a lot. I learned how to adapt, how to push through when things are difficult, and how important it is to keep moving forward.