Yaen Mei
ESLINTG 100
Draft3 (Final Draft?)
October 5, 2024
Changing Fate
Immigration
is very common in my hometown. My hometown is just a rural area near a small
town in Taishan, Guangdong. Many people could barely afford their family’s life
in the past. Thus, it’s common that only elders and children were left in a
whole village because most of young adults immigrated to the foreign countries
or cities to earn money. People in my hometown thought immigration could change
their life, especially, when they didn’t have high education and had to work a
hard job with low wages. Nevertheless, some immigrants would go back to their
hometown to develop it. This behavior also made an impression on people who
lived there—the immigrants are rich. All of these reasons caused the people in
my hometown to be obsessed with immigration. Expectedly, these reasons have affected
my family as well.
My father’s
little sister was the first immigrant in my family. As a part of the villagers
in my hometown, she didn’t get a high education. She moved to Guangzhou which
is the nearest big city and found a job. However, even though she worked diligently
and had a long shift, she only got paid a little money. The wage couldn’t match
the work she put in. My aunt was not satisfied with this situation. Therefore,
she started to find another method to earn more money. In 2000, she decided to
immigrate to the US. After that, she still worked a hard job, but then she earned
higher wages. It was possible to afford the cost of living and support my
grandparents. She said that immigrating to the US was a good decision for her.
If not, she would still be struggling on a hard job with low wages. This choice
changed her fate.
As time passed, my aunt
got married in the US. She obtained a green card, and thought that it was time
to bring my grandparents to the US. During this period of her life in the US,
she realized that the welfare policy in the US is better for my grandparents.
However, adapting to a different life was not easy. My grandparents had never
learned English before and their age limited their ability to learn English. In
the beginning, they needed my aunt to accompany with them for everything. Now,
they are able to do most of things by themselves although they only know a
little simple words, like ‘Hello’, ‘Thank you’, ‘Goodbye’. My grandfather found
a job to spend time, and he met some foreign friends on this job. My grandmother
always said that the US is better than my hometown. Because of the government policy,
she could gain some free food and a cheap rental house. They adapted the US
lifestyles so well. This year is the twentieth year of them living in Chicago.
They are really enjoying their USA life. I think that immigrating has changed
their life.
At the same
time, my aunt helped my parents and me to apply for a green card as well. My
parents’ immigration reason was the US has better education and work resources
for me. At first, I always resisted it. Moving to another country almost means
restarting my life. In the US, my parents have to work at a hard job even though
they are old enough to retire in China. Furthermore, I have to attend the
university again. These things are very unacceptable and painful for me.
However, there is no leeway. I can’t afford the price of regret. Dare or die,
and I chose “dare”. Consequently, I live in Chicago now. This is a huge turning
point in my life. Regardless if I take it or not, I already chose the option. I
must follow the path to continue my life.
Immigration
has influenced my family so much. It’s inevitable. These stories are about my
family trying to change their life or improve their lives better. I would never
judge their decision because they already chose the best option in their
horizon, and these decisions have changed their fate obviously. On the other
hand, even if my family were not affected by immigration, they also might have
found another way to change the difficult situations. Without a doubt, my
family has controlled their own fate.
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