I was only two years old when I came to the United States from New Zealand. At that time I had no idea what was happening or where we were going. I just knew we were suppose to be going somewhere that will change our lives for the best.
I don’t remember much of how I came here, I just knew that one day I’m in my homeland and the next I'm in a strange place that I’ve never been before.
I’ve always thought of how different my life would have been if I had stayed in New Zealand. I even asked my mom what it’s like there. She says that the water and air is so fresh and clean and that it’s surrounded by beautiful mountains and buildings that offers some excitement in the scenery.
I also asked her why we had to come here if it was such a wonderful place, and she says because we were deeply struggling out there. My father had a problem and it impacted the way that I grew up because it made things not only difficult for me but my family as well.
I didn’t have the best childhood growing up and there are things that happened that still stick with me today, and this so called magical place that we had to come to to change our lives only made a small difference. Things are different but we are still struggling.
In a book I read, Los Viajes The Journeys by Poor Press it explains the story of a man named Solo Limu. A samoan man who came to the U.S. to help his uncle with his church. He talks about how back at home kids treat their elders with respect and show eldership while out here kids could care less about how they treat their elders. My mom says it’s something that all pacific islanders are taught to do; show eldership.
To this day I miss my homeland very much, but the struggles from my past help me to strive for a better future and make me stronger. My inspiration to do better in life is that I’ve been at rock bottom and I don’t want to be there ever again because the only way to go from there is up.