I was born in Ecuador, and Ecuador's first language is Spanish. My mom had left me in Ecuador when I was 3, and due to visa issues, I couldn't come with her. After 8 years of a lot of paperwork, my visa got approved. I came to New York City when I was 10. I had to start a new life, meet new friends, and learn a new language. My mom was very hard on me because she wanted me to learn English as soon as possible since I was going to start school, and English is important for education. I thought it was impossible to learn English. She would make me read a book every night, so I could read English. She would teach me 15 words a day. I had to write them, and read them over and over again. She would make me cry because I thought she was being too hard on me. She just wanted the best for me. I learned English in less than 6 months. It was hard in the beginning because I thought everyone was making fun of me because of my accent. I didn't have a strong accent but my overthinking always told me that if someone around me laughed, they were laughing at me. A lot of kids bullied me because I didn't know how to say certain words, but thanks to my mom and my family, I'm very fluent in English. My experiences as a 1st generation immigrant has taught me to be strong, to trust the process and to think that everything is possible if you try hard. Nothing in life comes easy, you have to work for it. I'm excited for the future and to see what I accomplish in the USA. 

– Daniela

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant