Writing on The Immigrant’s Journey
by Albert L.
The quintessential story of America is that of the immigrant. Packing up your bags to leave the comforts you once knew and traveling to a land of apple pies in search of opportunities and freedom is something that is hardwired into the DNA of the United States. So many come to our shores (or more likely airports) in search of a better life for themselves and their children.
This experience is undeniably both challenging and transformative. How could it not be, when you’re tackling your sense of identity, stitched together from an amalgamation of the pieces of culture you’ve acquired – the nostalgia of where you were from and how that potentially clashes with both the strangeness and wonders in the vast tapestry that is America.
Having mentored a few international students and immigrants, they share their heartfelt and moving stories of coming to this country. These formative experiences often compel them to want to choose the topic of being an immigrant for their college essays. Unfortunately, the wave of many immigrants in the U.S. has made this identity not as unique as one might think.
Some typical tropes you see within these stories: the difficulty of learning English, struggling with classes, and making new friends. While there’s inherent conflict that naturally lends itself for story, these tropes also follow the generic trappings of the immigrant experience that can feel impersonal. The danger here is that if not executed well, these cliches paint you as an immigrant, and not as a fully individual person with unique values and interests.
That’s not to say that you can’t pursue writing about these experiences, but consulting with an EssayNarwhal mentor can really help you solidify the specific details that distinguish your personal story from others. With some brainstorming, you might actually find that there are much more defining aspects about your character.
For example, one of my students started off with a typical story of him being overwhelmed with learning English and eventually getting an A on an oral presentation. The essay was fine, but it focused a little too much on his earlier life and nothing really made him stand out.
After some deeper contemplation, he eventually settled on the idea of expectations of him needing to be in STEM. He thought about how television, a technical feat of cathodes in a box, was crucial to helping him learn English, but also taught him about art and humor. He sat around this device, laughing along to The Ellen Show with his family. Even though he loved science and engineering, he rejected the idea that STEM alone was the answer. He went on to tell a story about how he engaged with photography at museums and talked with artists where he recognized that STEM was merely a tool, and one that should be used to work in conjunction with our humanity.
If you’re intent on sticking with the topic, you perhaps might want to fast forward past some of the earlier cliches and focus more on how you’ve thrived since. One of my students, in a way to add more detail, wrote about some of her experiences listening to her mother talk about how stilted some of the literature she grew up reading in China because of how authors were probably self-censoring. She contrasts her mother’s experience from her own by showing her love of language. Yes, the student became bilingual after arriving to the US, but she also stocked her bookshelves with stories about magical realism in Spanish and read the latest research papers on brains in German. She also fell in love with the lyrics of post punk music, and how their androgynous artists with eyeliner showed the possibilities of expression that could have never been possible if she stayed in China.
The point here isn’t to diminish your challenges in acclimating, but to really channel your unique qualities that you’ve embraced because of this new place that you call home.
Even amongst Narwhals that migrate, there will be others on that journey too. The trick is for you to show how you differentiate yourself from your fellow travelers.