We all know that the dictionary was pretty common worldwide. Although this dictionary is ordinary, it is significant to me. I still remember that my mother bought this dictionary when I just immigrated to New York so that I could learn English better. The dictionary was red and pretty heavy since it contains more than 140,000 words. Because I was a Chinese, I have to learn English harder than others. When I got this dictionary, I didn't like to read it because it was too much and it was inefficient (the learning speed was too slow). When I was in high school, I didn't like to use this dictionary. But when I was in college, I decided to study hard on my English. I started to recite words. I found that the words in this dictionary are often more suitable for me. Sometimes, I like to highlight the words I don’t know and marked it down to remember it again and again.  English created many obstacles to my immigration life, but it helps me go through a lot. For example, it helps me to have better communication with others which let me meet a lot of good friends at school, and easier to integrate into a new environment. I think the dictionary does not only have a tremendous impact on me, but it also impacts a lot of different immigrants. After I know English, I found out that many people more recognize me as American-Chinese instead of Chinese. I believe I will never forget how useful this dictionary has done for me in my life.  

– ZY

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child