Mix of Opposites

Mix of Opposites

My life has been divided into two parts since moving to United States. In order to come to the United States, I had to leave my life behind, pack two suitcases, pass three continents and cross an ocean to start a new life. I left my family, my friends, and my country behind. I just brought my memories, my language, and my culture with me to start a new life. It has been challenging to fit in American culture, but it is also interesting. I wasn’t strong or brave in my home country, but since arriving in Chicago I have had to be strong and brave. I had to learn how to be fluent in the new world and make my way and be loyal to what I was in my country at the same time.

Since my arrival, my biggest challenge has been trying to fit in and not to lose my true self. I can say I was lucky that I found a lot of good friends here, and thanks to them, I have experienced lot of things from American culture that amazed me. The passion and willingness that this culture must keep the freedom for people of any race, gender, and religion to live, learn and experience life the way they desire is beautiful. In addition, the kindness and the welcoming people show to new things is heartwarming. When I see the culture make this potential for people, especially young people, to believe in themselves and try to be more independent, I feel confident too. The culture of giving each other braveness and compliments is beautiful.

Besides the good parts, sometimes I feel I can’t accept some parts of this culture from what I have seen since I started working in a grocery store. The first thing that shocked me was the customer service culture. I had to be nice even when customers were rude. The pressure and the force I felt from American work culture was heavy. I saw lot of people that were working for long time, but they couldn’t retire and enjoy their life because the system doesn’t support them. I felt a great fear that I would have to work for my entire life.  In addition, the cost of education and the healthcare system fill me with a lot of fear. I feel that the system is designed to keep people in debt and financially under control. For example, from the moment people start as students by taking out loans, they will be under financial pressure for many years due to the high cost of education. The cost of education and living expenses is unbelievably high, which highlights how powerful and scary the capitalist system of government is in the United States.

My life has been a mix and balance of many different things since I moved to Chicago. It is a mix of joy and pain, peace and challenge, freedom and limits, laughter and tears, rights and wrongs, happiness and sadness, weakness and strength, and bravery and fear. The culture in the U.S. has both beauty and ugliness, like every other culture and country on this planet. Meanwhile, I enjoy getting to know it, learning from it, and embracing it while I try to stay loyal to my original identity and culture. Living in the United States has taught me to be more open-minded and always welcome new things and new challenges.