I was born on April 30th In a small city in Kenya. Life in Kenya was going great until my little sister got very sick. We took her to a hospital but they couldn’t do anything to help so they told us that the best option we had was to come to America for her treatment.

 A couple months passed by and we went through the process of coming to the United States. On the day when we were ready to get on our flight, there were some complications with immigration which caused us to leave our father behind. This was the hardest thing we had to face as a family but it was mostly harder on my mother because she left her home place, her husband, the father of her kids, and went to a country where she didn’t understand anything because of her language.

On the plane ride to America, I was devastated that my father couldn’t be with us. We first landed in New York City and stayed at a hotel for a couple of days. We then moved to Salt lake City, Utah. My little sister was sent to a specialist who had diagnosed and treated her. This was very frightening because we did not speak the language nor did we understand anything that was happening.

 I was five years old when we came to America and the oldest sibling was barely 10. My mom had nobody that she knew that could help her; we only had a translator who helped us settle down at our new home at first. After a couple weeks, I started kindergarten. I felt embarrassed because I thought others would think of me differently but my teachers and classmates were very kind and supportive.

 As we settled down ,we met our neighbor who was also Somali. She helped babysit my two younger siblings since they couldn’t start school yet, as my mom went and looked for a job.

As years went by, we have grown to have a better understanding. My mom filed for my dad to come here but once again immigration has had some complications.

To this day, we are still trying to reunite our family together. Later on in mid 2013, We moved to Greeley , Colorado to see our family members. My uncle helped us find a house and good schools to go to. My mom got a stable job so she could provide for us and our dad. When I came to Colorado, I started in the third grade. My English improved , So did my reading skills. I’ve gotten a better understanding of the world then I had back in 2009 and have grown as a person.

In 2018, My mom went back to Kenya to pay a visit to my dad. It was very nice knowing he wasn’t alone and there was hope.  Immigration is still in the process of getting him here. Me and my siblings are planning on visiting my dad this upcoming summer so hopefully it all works out.

Therefore, there have been many obstacles me and my family have faced but it got better over time. Even though I miss my father I understand things happen in life and one day we will all be together again. My mom and dad want nothing but success for me and I hope to make them proud one day, especially by following this IB path I am on.