Sorry

My name is Carolina Correa. I’m 20 years old and I moved to the United States two years ago. Before, I lived in Colombia with my family. One day, my parents were separated because they were fighting a lot since they did not love each other anymore. Then my father decided to come to the United States. One year after that, my mom decided to come too, but they were still separated. I decided to keep living in Colombia because I wanted to finish my school. I wanted to graduate and also I needed to be far away from them because each one of us had our own lives in that moment, so I had to keep doing mine. My family supported me. They understood my decision, even my mother was very sad and she thought that I did not love her, but I did, I only wanted to follow my heart and feelings; however this was a great experience for me because I lived alone in my own house and that helped me to be independent, responsible and mature. But after 2 years, I missed my family and I decided to come here and see them. It was a good decision because it gave me the opportunity to overcome challenges for myself. I felt very excited to start a different life, but I also felt melancholic because I left my sister, niece, grandparents and friends in Colombia. There were many feelings, but overall I really felt good and calm.

I arrived to New York with a friend and her daughter; her husband was supposed to pick us up at the airport. It was my first day in the United States, I could see many buildings and the Statue of Liberty and it was a great experience to walk on New York streets. I heard people speak different languages. The weather was great. Also, I traveled on the New York train which is longer than Medellin train in Colombia and it was confusing for me because the Medellin train is shorter and cleaner than the New York train.

One of the best moments in my life was when I saw my family again after 2 years without seeing them. I saw my brother, my sister and my parents. They were picking me up at a bus station in Boston. I hugged them and I felt so happy when I saw them again and after that we went to eat something in a Colombian restaurant. Then my parents helped me to organize my new bedroom. It was a great moment because I had inner peace I felt calm, safe and I had no worries. I was with my family and everything for me was great because I was near them.

Now I have a great life. I’m going to school even though sometimes it is hard because I feel afraid, nervous and ashamed when I try to speak English, but I keep trying. My graduation is going to be on June 16 and I feel so excited. After that, I want to go to college and study Psychology. I also want to be a Crossfit personal trainer. I work every day to achieve my goals and overcome myself, I think each one of my decisions help me to be who I am, because of the time I lived alone I have been very happy and I’ve learned a lot from life. Now I’m near my family and also I know I can make my own decisions. I keep learning to enjoy my sadness and happiness because if won’t exist a sad day how I could enjoy a happy day. For this reason my best moment in my life happen every single day.