Sheltered English 3
When we hear someone's story, everything changes.
This is why we write. This is why we read. These are our stories.
Student from Mexico:
Coming to America
It was a cloudy afternoon when my parents called my sister and me to the kitchen. They told us that they had something important to tell us. From the moment I saw their faces, I knew it was something serious. I was scared. I had no idea what they were going to tell us. My mom looked worried. My dad looked nervous.
My dad started speaking, but he couldn't find the right words to give us the news.Then, it finally happened. He told us that my mom and he had been thinking about moving to another country. They said that they wanted a new experience, and they wanted my sister and me to learn a second language
There was a lot of awkward silence.There were a lot of things going on in my head. I didn’t know what to think. I saw my sister. She was also confused, but I could tell she was excited. She broke the awkward silence when she started to ask a lot of questions. I think my parents didn’t have an answer to all of those questions. I didn’t say a word. After my sister stopped talking, my parents asked me how I felt. I was a little mad and sad, but I didn’t want to make it more complicated than it already was.
After some days passed, I told my parents that I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to leave everything I knew to go to a place I didn’t know. I was scared. I asked my parents if I could stay with my grandparents, but they said no. They said that we are a family, and we have to stay together. I was really mad because I felt like they were deciding for me. They were obligating me to do something I didn’t want to do. I also had to leave my friends. I was really sad.
After some time, I felt like I couldn’t do anything about it, so I decided to do what my parents wanted me to do. I felt more comfortable with the decision once I realized I couldn’t do anything. I also felt nervous, but I was looking forward to starting my life in a different country.
Student from Guatemala:
When I Came to the US
I was living in a place called Quesada in Guatemala, and one day my mom told my sister and brother that we were going to move to the US because she wanted to have a better future.
When my mom told my siblings and I that we are going to come here, we felt happy and a little bit sad because we had to leave family, friends and other things. On the other hand, we felt happy because we knew that if we came here, we would have a better future.
The first state that I came to was in Texas. Then I went to Miami and stayed there for 15 days . When I first got here, I felt different. I felt like everything was going to be different. I also felt different because they have a different language, and I knew that I have to study to learn. It was November 5 when we got here in Sioux Falls with my brother and sister. It was difficult because I had to start my life in a new city with my brother and sister.
In December we started to go to McGovern with my brother, and my sister came to this school . On my first day of school, I felt awkward. To be honest, I was scared, but I had to try my best to not disappoint my parents. I had a great teacher named Mrs.Vettrus. She was very helpful because she helped me find all of my classes. In a couple days, I felt comfortable at school because I met some people that were really nice.
Everytime I remember Guatemala, I feel happy because I like my culture. Even though I live in another country, I won’t ever forget my roots. If I ever get to be an “important person,” I will gladly say that I am from Guatemala. I won’t ever forget about the country where I have many great memories. I will always be happy to represent my culture.
Eden from Eritrea:
Believe in Yourself
A year and half ago I was judged by my dad and my family members because of the friends I had. I had friends who smoke and do a lot of bad things. Sometimes they steal stuff from stores, sometimes they disrespect old people, and sometimes they smoke, but I was never one of them who does bad things. One day I was with them at the store, and someone who knows my dad saw me at the store with them, and he followed us to our car and saw them smoking. He called my dad and told him that he saw me smoking, and he added a lot of negative things about me. My dad believed him and was disappointed in me. I tried to explain that I did not do the things he heard about me, but he couldn't listen to me.
After some time he called my mom who is in Africa and told her how bad I turned out to be. I was very sad and mad, because most of my family misunderstood me except my mom. My mom was the only one who believed in me; she knew I wouldn’t do anything like that and disappoint her. She knew the daughter she raised wouldn’t do wrong and disappoint her. Anyways, after my dad told her, I called her and she started talking about what my dad told her about me. I was so scared that she will misunderstand me too, but she actually said she did not believe what my dad told her, because she believed in me that I wouldn’t do that. I was so happy that she was still by my side, but mad and sad that my other family judged me without knowing the whole truth.
My dad and I were mad at each other, and I started doing the things he heard just to make him mad, I started smoking and started going with friends who do bad things. I did that because I was so mad that I was Judged at the things I did not do. But as time went by, I started to tell myself to not care about what people think of me, and started believing in myself instead of doing wrong things, because people judged me. I started to be strong and make good decisions for myself. I told my mom that I would not do anything wrong that would hurt myself and that would disappoint her. I told my dad that what he thinks of me won’t matter anymore and that I do not care what he says about me anymore. From that I learned what people think of you should not matter at all. What really matters is that you are making good decisions for yourself. Do not care about what others think of you. Thank you mom for making me believe in myself, and for believing in me.
Latina Student:
Las Quinceañeras
Quinceañeras are something Hispanics do for their kids, but mostly for their daughters. Quinceañeras are really exciting, very appreciative, especially when some parents can’t afford having a party for their kids. Having a quince is very memorable because we take a lot of pictures to look back to when the kids are all grown up. Some parties can be big/huge and some can be small. Quinceañeras are super fun but can also be very tiring because either you wear heels or flats. Having a quince is also very pretty, and the dresses are gorgeous. Some people will bring gifts or give you money. Sometimes people will hide that money in their gifts.
We always try our very best to make everything perfect, the food, having enough tables and chairs to keep our guests entertained. The parties always have to be friendly. We do NOT tolerate the disrespect or threats. If there is any of that, we will ask you to leave. Some people even get security guards during the party. Some of us quinceañeras will give a speech during the party to tell the guests how much we appreciate them for coming to the party. Some parents like to start their parties in the afternoon until night or start them at nightish to midnight. It's mostly common to do the party at night.
Having a quince is very special to a daughter. It’s very important to most parents because they want to show their kids how much they love them. People will judge based on how the party went or how the food was, but we don’t care about what other people think. We don’t have the parties to impress people. Parents do the party/parties to show love and affection to their kids, not to anyone else.
When you wear your gorgeous dress, you think to yourself and say, “This is my moment to shine, I don’t care what other people say.” What’s also important to both the parents and the daughter is the father/daughter dance. Now that will bring you to tears at the end because knowing that he won’t be with you forever, but that moment will always be with you no matter what. Having a quince is one of the greatest days of your life. Especially if you have one during a pandemic. For ex. The coronavirus.
It would be really hard for a daughter if her quince were to be canceled because some parents practice their dances when the daughter is very young or before they turn 15. It can be hard for a parent to set everything up for their daughter’s quinceañera, but it’s a little more difficult for them if they’re a single parent. Trust me I would know, but that doesn’t stop them from trying to make their child happy. How do I know all of this?? I know all of this because I had a quinceañera. It was the most amazing day of my life. I had a gorgeous dress, crown, and ring. It was just amazing for me.
It wasn’t as big but I still loved it. Even with all this covid-19, my father still managed to get it all set up. I did do a speech, and my dad surprised me with the father/daughter dance. It was a really nice dance for me because I would treat him so rudely before the party, but after the party I realized all the things he’s done for me and I should appreciate that. When the dance was over, I was in so much tears.
Latina Student:
Someone asked me, “What day in your life would you want to change?”
One day I would want to change was the day I was physically abused by an ex-boyfriend. The day I had bruises and cuts from all the abuse. He abused me because he thought I was talking to another guy in a certain way. He would try to control me, he wouldn’t let me do certain things, he would slap me if I said no to him.
A lot of us women are afraid to come to someone for help because we think it’s going to make things worse. Getting abused by someone isn’t something we should go through alone. If you're getting abused by anyone-- your dad, a boyfriend, or even your mom -- you should tell someone about what's going on. I know it can be hard to confess at first, but trust me it’s worth telling someone so they can help you. I know it's hard because I’ve been through this too. At first I never wanted to tell anyone because I thought no one would listen, but I got the help I needed, by telling someone about what’s going on. I told my counselor at school and she helped me get through it.
A lot of people won’t understand because they’ve never been abused or they don’t want to confess it. We shouldn’t have to hide our sadness; we women shouldn’t have to keep all of that sadness inside. If you keep your sadness in, it could hurt you even more. It’s not only women who get abused, it can be men as well, but it’s mostly women.
If you’re getting abused, please don’t be afraid to find help, don’t be afraid to tell a friend, a parent, a teacher, your school counselor, or even the cops. Don’t let the abuse get to you, so please find help. Also if you’ve been getting abused for a while, It’s not too late to tell someone about it. You don’t have to go through any of this alone.
Student from Jamaica:
Basketball
One thing that makes me happy is sports. When I don’t have anything to do I go to play basketball. I play basketball so much it turned into a routine to go play every weekend.
I remember that day when I started playing basketball. It was in the winter when it was not soccer season, but I wanted to do a sport for the winter so I told my mom to sign me up for basketball because I am down to try something. So she signed me up that night before the season started. I asked her to drop me off at the wellness center so that I could practice. I got out of the car, went inside checked in, and walked into the gym all confident like I knew how to play. I grabbed a ball and started shooting, but I was so bad I didn’t even have a shooting form. But I just kept shooting like I knew what I was doing.
As I was shooting the basketball, I said to myself fake it till you make it.
After I was done playing basketball, I called my mom to come pick me up because I was getting tired. She came about 10 minutes later. I got in the car and she said: “ how was it?”. I said it was fun. She told me maybe I could get some of my friends that know how to play to go with me. I have been playing basketball for four years now. One thing that I like about basketball is that you have to work together as a team to get things done.
Student from Kenya:
Who influenced you the most in your life?
That question is easy to answer; it’s definitely my mother. First, my mother helped me with a lot of things, and she still does to this day. My mom is someone who can depend on in every category. She also taught me how the world is and how scary it is. During the pandemic and during the protest, she said that “this world is scary, that we get killed because of our skin color.” She told me “to never be ashamed because of our skin color.” That opened my eyes and how I saw the world.
My mother influenced me to have a good education and future. Yes, she can be rough and angry at me, but she only does so I can have a good future and not a dark future and also so I can make better and good decisions. She was there for me when I needed her the most. My mom sees what I don’t see in life. For example, she can easily spot if I’m hanging out with the wrong friend. She can see that person that I’m around is not good for me. Now me and my mom barely talk because she’s at work when I’m at school. I don’t go home after school most of the time. I go to the gym or my girlfriend’s house and sometimes stay there until 9:00 p.m. That's when the basketball practice is done for me. When I’m at my girlfriend’s house, I usually go home at 11 pm and my mom goes to bed around 8 or 7 pm. I feel bad that we’re not talking anymore because I understand that she’s always working, but it’s not bothering me. I’m not home most of the time too. I don't know how she feels, but I’m happy every second we talk. We usually talk about school and how things are going. She gets that I have basketball practice but, she’s also happy when we both talk to each other. I wish we could talk more because she’s the one who influences me the most.
Student from Ethiopia:
Sweet Sixteen
This is a story about how my friends celebrated my 16th birthday. It was last year on February 2nd, 2020 they celebrated my birthday. I didn’t know they were trying to celebrate my birthday. It was on Friday after school at Biruk’s house. On Friday, Biruk’s dad used to teach all of us about the Bible. Eden told Biruk's dad that she was trying to celebrate my birthday at their house, and he agreed to. Then he came and picked me up. I only knew that I was going to learn about the Bible. Then I went downstairs, and I was sitting. Biruk came to me and told me they have surprises for me. At first I didn't believe her. I thought she was joking, but I said okay and went upstairs. She closed my eyes and took me upstairs. Then when she told me to open my eyes, there was a surprise. There was Eden, Tsiant, and Reem. Those are my friends, and they made everything ready. I didn't expect that, so it really made me happy. It was a really nice day.They celebrated really well, and I was so happy. I was really thankful about doing a great thing to make me happy.
Student from Ethiopia:
Speeding
The scariest part of my life was when my brother and I got pulled over by the cops. We were going to Washington High School to see one of my friends and his friend in that school. Our parents didn’t know that we were going because we knew they wouldn’t let us go. We went anyway. We were there way too long, and we had to get back home before my dad came home. My brother was speeding, and I saw a police car, but I didn’t know my brother was speeding up, so I didn’t tell him there was a cop behind us. The cop was following us for a long time before my brother saw the cops, so he stopped the car at the parking lot around Washington, and the cop told him that he was speeding. He said sorry, and she asked him about his driving license. She took forever to finish what she was doing on the computer, and we were scared that my dad would be home before we got home.
She finally finished and came to us and told us that it's just a warning because it was his first time, but the bad part is that they emailed my dad and told him that we got pulled over. We made up a story, and he just told my brother to not speed up again. He was disappointed in him.
Hector:
Playing with Matches
All this started at my house. I was with my twin sister Elizabeth. We were about five or six years old at that time. We were messing around and playing around. When we entered a room that me and my sister we’ve never been in, my sister and I had checked out to see what was inside of that room. We both found these old toys and my sister and I started to play with them. They weren’t dusty or anything wrong with them. They were just chilling there like they looked like our parents got new toys for us but they weren’t. Right as we were about to leave, my sister found a small box left on the ground. It contained sticks that had a red dot on top had rough edges on both sides of the box. My sister might’ve thought that there were some sticks that you can stick to other small sticks. But they weren’t like that. I thought the same way as told my sister to take the box downstairs. That’s where we would head to play. But I told my sister that I was going to stay longer in the room and see what other interesting things I could've found in the room.
I found this one big coloring and was like” wow,” I thought I had hit the jackpot. I grabbed it. I started to head where my sister was down the basement. Half way when I was coming down I started to smell something like it was burning. I saw my sister in the corner. When I came all the way down the steps, I saw fire from within the corner of the basement. I told my sister to follow me. We left the house and we didn’t know what to do at that moment; instead, we headed to my dad’s shop where he was working. We told him that my sister and I started a fire down in the basement. He gasped, “WHAT!?” He ran towards the house and saw some coming from the back of the door.
There wasn't much smoke, but when he got there, the fire caught on to the plank of the wood where it was connected to the kitchen and the living room. He managed to calm some of the fire down and not let the fire travel farther. My mom arrived from work and saw smoke coming from the door which led to the basement. My sister and I were chilling outside doing nothing but sitting down in the grass. My mom rushed toward us saying, “Where's your dad!?” We told her that he was inside trying to get rid of the fire which he made to calm down. My mom went inside to help my dad. It wasn’t that much of a fire, but it was catching on the plank of wood. If we didn’t tell my dad at the beginning,it would bring the kitchen and the living room down. But luckily we thought right and told our dad. No one was hurt, but our parents were mad at both of us and clearly it’s both of our fault, because my sister and I found the box of matches and we didn’t know at first what they were and we played around with them. But we learned our lesson, that you should not mess with the fire or leave the fire going.
Hector:
Cali
When I was ten years old, my brother and I had so many memories together when he came to the United States. He would always take me out to places like Toys R Us, to the mall, restaurants, places where you can play pool, bowling, and so much more that I can’t even remember.
On May tenth 2018 me, my two sisters Elizabeth and Elena, my brother Luis, and both of my parents went to California. It was almost the last day of school in middle school, but we just got out early from school. I was excited that we were going to California. My mom told us the reason why we were going to California is our tio invited us to go to the Six Flags. My brother, sisters and I were so confused because we have never been to Six Flags in our lives, but our dad told us it’s where the best roller coasters are. We all jumped with excitement in the car. We couldn’t believe that we were going to the famous roller coasters in the world. But first my dad said that we’re making a stop at Rapid City.
We make it to Rapid City around 5 in the afternoon. Our dad was taking us where we never were, and my mom would always ask my dad, “Where are we going to Mt. Rushmore.” Yep Mt. Rushmore she said, and we didn’t have any clue that we were going to Mt. Rushmore, but my dad told us when we went out to eat. But when he told us that only me, my brother and my twin sister Elizabeth got excited, but my little sister Elena didn’t know what Mt. Rushmore is or how it looked. She was very confused. My dad said that we were going the next day because it was already getting late and it could’ve been closed at the moment.
It was the next day. I woke up with joy and excitement, telling my brother and sisters over and over that we were going to Mt. Rushmore. I was so antsy that I just wanted to go already, but my parents weren’t up yet, so we waited until they woke up. After about fifty minutes, it was around ten twenty in the morning, my parents finally got up from bed a little exhausted because they had to drive from Sioux Falls to California. We had to eat breakfast first, so we headed to McDonald’s to eat some breakfast. Finally we finished and it was time to head to Mt. Rushmore. I was excited the same as my twin sister and my brother and we were pumped to see the four faces of the presidents that have been carved since 1927. We arrived, we parked, I got out of the car and started heading up from the parking lot and then there it was I “MT. RUSHMOOOREEEE,” I screamed. We started to head where it talks about all the history behind the presidents and the people who carved the four faces in the mountain. We voyaged around the whole place.
When we were done exploring the whole place, we went to get some ice cream. It was the best moment of my life. My little sister wasn’t impressed or excited as me, but my twin sister and my brother were. But after that we went to go grab some lunch, and we kept going onward to California. We had to make some stops before we were heading to California. We made it to Las Vegas. It gave me a sign that we were close to Cali. “Cinco horas mas,” my dad tells us. We were jamming to cumbia music and enjoying the last five hours of the trip until we got to California. After those five hours of vibing to cumbia, we made it to California. We passed Los Angeles, heading straight to my uncle’s house. “We have arrived.” I jumped out of the car, very happy to see my tio. From the distance I saw him coming in my direction. I ran as fast as I could so I could be the first one to give him a hug. “TIO,” I said with excitement. I hugged him tightly and saw my sister’s sprinting towards my direction as well because they wanted to give him a big hug as well. We all got to say hi to everyone in the family. It was hot. It felt like I was in an oven getting baked. I was hoping that we would go on swimming, but we ate lunch first with my uncle. We had pupusas for lunch, and I was stuffed at the end. After lunch we were getting ready to head to Six Flags. I was very pumped to get on a roller coaster. Same as my sisters and my big brother.
When we arrived at Six Flags, we had to pay first in order to go in. Once when that was done we were in and let me tell you. I gasped. I was so excited, I was jumping around, I was telling my parents which one to get on first, I was telling my sisters which one they were thinking of getting on first. My uncle wanted to get on the dragon looking one. My sisters wanted to get on a roller coaster that looked like a log and that goes through water. My brother wanted to get on the superman one “which” it looked like it goes about one hundred feet if I would guess, but I chose to go with my uncle. After so many rides with my uncle and with my sisters, there was a point that I felt like I wanted to vomit. So I didn’t want to get on the roller coasters any more because of the way I was feeling. I asked my parents if I was hungry, so we went for some burgers. After we were done with lunch, my sisters already wanted to go because they already got in one of each ride in Six Flags. So we left and went straight to my tios house. Once we arrived at my tio’s house my dad and y tio started chatting about how his business is going. My mom was out in the city shopping with my sisters. My brother and I went for a walk, and we passed by Gamestop to see what were some games that we could buy to take back home so we could both play together.
We couldn’t find any good games, so we just left the store and kept going for a walk. My mom called me that we should head back home, because my dad and my tio were making some chicharrones. I was hungry at the moment when she told me that, so I told my brother that we had to head back to my tio’s house. We arrived with the smell of the chicharrones in the air, looking very soft like a marshmallow. My mouth was very watery. I couldn’t wait to put limon and sal on my chicharron. I ate about fifteen pieces of chicharron because I was still hungry. Once I was done, we started to listen to my uncle’s stories talking about how great he was in sports. I always enjoyed listening to his stories. It was time to go to bed, and I think the next day we were going to head back home. We said our goodbyes to my tio. It was fun being with him for two weeks, enjoying his stories, the chicharrones that he made with my dad, inviting us to the best place where they have the funnest roller coasters in the world, and going out for a walk exploring the area a little so if we come back again to visit any families or my tio again. I wish I could've spent more time with mi tio. I miss him until this day. But I hope I can go visit him one of these days again to hang out with him or go explore new places in California with him.