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“Vandi, what was it like coming to America?” I looked up to see my friend Carson staring at me intently, his eyes big blue eyes full of wonder, his blonde hair shining under fluorescent lighting. Suddenly, I was self conscious about my dark skin and eyes.
Offerring a small smile I told him, “It changed my life.” I looked around at the large classroom we were sitting in. Garfield Elementary in Revere Massachusetts was not a bad place to go to school. The walls were a vibrant, sunshine yellow, the kind of color that inspires creativity, and there were drawings and work that students had done plastered all over. The euphoric laughter of twenty five schoolchildren filled me up with feelings of safety and joy. My hands were coated in a sticky layer …show more content…

Here, there is new supplies and technology to use, and encouraging teachers. Back in Sierra Leone, things were much different,” I inform Carson. The confused look on his face tells me he doesn’t quite understand what I’m trying to say. “What was it like there?” “I don’t remember that much, I left when I was 6. The country had being torn apart by a devastating, eleven year long, civil war and it was not safe for my family. We went to a Liberian refugee camp to escape the terrors in our home country.” I gripped a color pencil in my hand, idly scribbling on a blank piece of paper, “I can still picture the camp like I was there yesterday. The makeshift homes with flimsy white tarps as roofs, the dust floating in the air, stinging my eyes, and the people who seemed to have lost all hope.” “How did you get to America?” Carson inquired with wide eyes. “A Liberian official picked us up to take us to America. They said I would have more opportunities here and that it’s safer. I got to go on a real airplane! When I first got here, all I could think about was how huge it seems. Everything is so big here. It was scary because no one spoke my language and everyone was so different from me. That was back in 2010. Then in 2012, the DREAM Act passed. That means that if I graduate from high school, I can become a legal American citizen.” I looked at my friend, a little sheepish. I had never told any of my school friends my

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