Obstacles

By: Furhan Chodri

There were many obstacles that I faced in life. However, I faced my worst obstacle when I came to the United States. My worst obstacle was not being able to speak English.

It all started when I came to the United States. The first few months in the United States were really good because I didn't start school yet. However, then came the first day of my school which can be described as the worst day of my life.

My father dropped me off at my school and told me that school is really fun here. I entered the building and saw about a thousand students. I didn't know where to go and how to get to my class. I didn't know that all the classes starting with the number 2 are on the second floor. I was about fifteen minutes late to my first class, because I didn't know where to go. I went to three rooms and then I finally got to my right class. In the first two rooms the teachers pointed out the room number of my program card and I left both times. In the third room, the teacher called the security and told the guy to take me to the right class. I didn't pay much attention in class because it was my ESL (English as a Second Language) class and I didn't understand anything. Then I went to my second period class, which was my math class. I knew all the answers to the problems. However, I didn't know how to explain it. The teacher put three problems on the board and picked on me to do the first problem. I went to the board and wrote the answer and when the teacher asked me to explain how I solved the problem I said the word "NO." I wanted to say that I didn't know how to explain it. Then I heard some student laughing at me because I couldn't explain it. Also I heard someone call me "STUPID." I felt stupid but I couldn't do anything. Then I decided to give my best in my ESL class. After six months, I received two awards, one in English and another in Math.

English was a big problem for me; English prevented me from making friends and participating in class which led to lower grades in my classes. After I figured out that English is very important for me in order to succeed in life, I started to work harder than ever. Gradually I learned English.