I was about 14 years old turning 15. It was afternoon, almost evening. I remember my mom gathered my brother and me into the living room to tell us the big news. We were moving to the United States.

I don’t remember the exact words, I do remember I felt this weird sensation in my stomach like emptiness. I thought it was because I hadn’t had dinner yet, but it was a sensation, a feeling that I’ve never experienced before. I couldn’t stop thinking how my life was going to change. I had a knot in my belly. I had known this move was coming someday. This idea started a long time ago, when my grandma went to live abroad. She lived first in Panama, before coming to the United States. She traveled to get more opportunities to give her sons a better future. Then my dad obtained his visa and then his residence in the United States back in 2012. While my dad was living and working in the U.S., we, my mom, my little brother and I were still in the Dominican Republic.

I knew that moving to the United States to be with my dad would make things easier. And I wanted to see my dad and have him close to us again. But I was kind of afraid, I didn’t want to leave, not yet. I wanted so badly to finish school with my friends, to create more memories with them.

We had to leave at Christmas, a time when families are often most together. It was also my 15th birthday. So the feelings were more intense than ever. My grandma couldn’t be more tearful, she didn’t want to cry, though her eyes were watery. My aunts were hugging me and my brother every time they saw us around the house as they were preparing dinner. After dinner we took chairs into the backyard and started remembering and telling funny stories from our family.

A big part of my family came with us to the airport. Some had watery eyes, like they were about to cry. But most were dry-eyed, I think because they had cried so much already and now all that was left was to say goodbye.

When we arrived in the U.S., my dad and uncle were waiting at the airport. It was heartwarming, seeing my dad again after so many years. He seemed thinner, the video calls hadn’t shown how well he was looking. It was just so wonderful having all four of us together again.

When I began my life in the U.S. I was homesick, it was like a part of me was happy and the other part was sad. The days went by, but I still did not feel at home, everything was so different. It was snowy, and I liked to see it from inside, I couldn’t stand the cold. There were people from all over the world here. I knew only a little English. I wanted to go back home - and home for me was the Dominican Republic.

But this started changing when I began going to school. In school I got to know a nice group of Dominicans, who helped me a lot with the classes. I started to meet amazing people, friends who helped me to adapt, and teachers that helped me get the best out of me. I also made friends from many other parts of the world, from Uganda, Ghana, Colombia, Brazil, Viet- nam, Cambodia, and Burma. I started building new experiences with these new people in a new place.

Little by little I began to feel at home. The people around made me realize how good this change has been, creating new and surprising memories that I will later share with my family and friends in the Dominican Republic. Coming to U.S. didn’t just give me more opportunities to study, it also gave me the chance to grow as person, to be more open to change.

© Deybi. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.