Imran Khan
Professor Lunday
English 1301
August 2, 2015
Struggle
Equals Success
My name is Imran khan age 23 born in Florida raised in
Pakistan. I have three brothers, and I am the oldest one in the family. I also
have a twin brother. We are so much alike and have a lot of things in
common. In my life I have traveled to a
lot of places and have seen so many things which people of my age can’t even
dream of doing. When I was five years old I left for Pakistan for religious
purpose, because my parents believed that America is not the safest place to
raise kids. My dad was living here in the US for 10 years, and he has seen it
all. He knew if children were raised in Miami, Florida they would be exposed to
negative influences and would stray far away from their religious beliefs. So
my father decided to move his entire family back to Pakistan. He wanted to give
us all the things that he always dreamed of. For me it was kind of a different
experience, because I was born in the US and never visited Pakistan and did not
know how to interact with the people there. But I was still very young, and I
could still learn and adapt. To be very honest I did not at first; the new
environment was very different to me. In Pakistani culture, families live as a
joint family. By having so many people around you it keeps you engaged in your
daily life. After a few months, my relationship with my cousiqwns grew stronger
and it caused me to act just like them.
The toughest time was starting school there. It was
totally opposite: school hours were longer and the studies were also much
harder. But I had my cousins with me, which helped me adapt more easily. We all
used to eat breakfast together and then walk our way to school. Walking to
school was the time that drew us closer. We use to share our secrets, talk
about life, and anything around us. I did not know much about life, neither did
they, because we were only six years old. I never felt lonely in school because
I had one cousin in every class. At lunch time, we all use to get together in
the cafeteria, combine our money and buy a lot of food. We all used to sit
together to share the food and spread the love between us. The best time was
after school, where all of my cousins and friends from the school used to get
together to play soccer in the school field. After all the hard effort on the
field, a nice meal cooked by our mothers was a pleasant reward. Afterwards
would be time for our daily nap. After all the fun activities, we would also go
for our religious class.
As the time passed, we all grew older and the environment
around us changed. Our joint family relationship came to an end, and everybody
drifted apart into their own lives. All of my cousins moved to different part
of the city, but that did not tear our friendship. The reason why our
friendship was unbreakable was due to the holy month of Ramadan. What is the
holy month of Ramadan? It is the month in which we get a chance to purify our self
from the dirty environment around us. A
chance to cleanse our souls, a chance to draw ourselves closer to God! In this month we fast all day from sunrise to
sunset. When we broke the fast at sunset, it gave an opportunity for our
friends and family to come together. It was a very festive environment! Due to
Ramadan, our families would get the chance to gather frequently. After this
holy month came the festival called EID! The first thing that we do on EID is
to pray in the morning. After all the religious activities, all the family gets
together and celebrates.
This was how our time used to pass in Pakistan. As we
matured, everybody decided to pursue their own careers, which caused them to
move to different parts of the world. I decided to go to England based on a recommendation
from an old friend of mine. I felt like a stranded fish in a strange pond.
Whatever I was used to in Pakistan, I did not see that in England. I felt like
an alien who did not know where to go. Everything was different from the
weather to the soil. I still remember when I landed at the Heathrow airport.
First, it was hard to deal with the airport staff, I could not find my luggage,
and I did not know who to talk and what to say them. The only way to find my
luggage is to stay at the airport till I was only one left there from my
flight. After all the hardship I finally found my luggage, and then I felt
relieved and thought my hardship would end, but that was just a beginning. When
I came out of the airport the cold breeze hit my face and gave me goose bumps.
Then I realized that I forgot to bring the most important thing which was my
jacket. I forgot the most important rule of England, and that is to always have
a jacket with you. After going through all the problems at the airport I got
myself together. I began to search for my friend’s number who recommended me to
come here and start a new life. I trusted him a lot he gave me a hope to be
something in life. I tried to call him from the phone that I brought from
Pakistan, but I forgot that it is impossible to use that phone here. Then I
decided to seek for some help, but I did not know who to talk to. First, I
tried to find someone with the same nationality but at the time I couldn’t seem
to find any. So I decided to approach British people and seek for help. At that
moment, I realized that to survive here I need to adapt the environment. As
they say “when in Rome… do what the romans do” I finally got help from a very
old lady, and she decided to let me use her phone to call my friend. I called
once no one answered then I tried to called again still no one answered that
made me little worried I kept on calling but no response. I tried one last time
but this time something different happened someone actually picked up heard my
voice and cut the call. At that moment, I realized that in this country people
change like the weather and lost all my hopes. “Where should I go?” “Who should
I call?” Questions like these were eating me up inside. I took my sulking-self outside,
just waited to see where the wind take me but no, that proved to be wrong, me
sitting there outside the airport changed nothing. I was still stuck in the
same situation! Then I decided to stop wasting my time and try to get myself a
place to stay. I had some Pakistani currency, which I had it exchanged at the
airport and called taxi to take me to the nearest but also cheapest hotel.
Even though I had a roof over my head, I was still
worried about a lot things. I had no idea what to eat, but after a while I got
myself together and ordered some hot dinner. However, it was nothing like what
my mom used to serve me, which brought tears in my eyes. Then I took a warm
shower and went to sleep. I woke up next morning hoping to find someone from
the same nationality. I Left the room and was roaming around when I bumped into
someone. I said sorry but in my language but the strange part was he replied in
the same language as well. That was a
huge relief. We chit chatted for a bit, and I told him about the problems I had
to face. The person I bumped into was the staff manager of the hotel. He was
very understanding and very helpful. So I decided to ask him for a job. I mean,
if I wanted to live there, I needed a job. Unfortunately he did not have one
available, but he did guide me to a Pakistani locality where I can try to find
a job and also guided me to find a roof over my head. So I headed out to the
locality as soon as I could. The aroma of the locality reminded me of my place
back home, and I also heard the adhaan ( prayer call). This meant that a mosque
was nearby. My ears were my guide and finally I was at the doorstep of the
mosque. Before I asked for help from the people that were there, I knew better
to ask my lord first. I applied my prayer soon when I was done someone tap on
my shoulder and asked me are you new here brother? I said yes I am brother. We
chatted for a while and in minutes we became real close and it felt like he was
my real brother. Then after a healthy conversation he asked why do not you come
meet my roommates. We left, and I went to his house. When I got there I met a
lot of other guys of my age. It felt very good to see people of my age who are
from the same country as you. We all ate together then my friend who brought me
here asked why not you stay with us for a few days. I first refused, but they
insisted so I decided to stay over. I was there for a few days, but then I
started to feel I am burden on them. I talked to one of the guys and asked the
permission to leave. I thought they will be glad to hear that but it was
totally opposite they insisted me to stay. We finally came to a mutual
discussion whenever I will find a job I will pay them off. Then I wanted to do
what I really came for, which was to get enrolled in a college. They took me to
the local community college, and I met an adviser to talked me about the
instruction. I asked him about the fees, but I was shocked by the amount he
told me; I was not in the best finical situation. I got all the information and
pretended like I would enroll, but I knew that I could not afford at the
moment. To afford the college here I knew I definitely wanted a good paying
job. I came home and told my roommates the situation. One of them decided to
get me a job at a grocery store. I began working there but after a while I
realized this is not what I came here for. I always wanted to study and be
someone in life and to achieve that I had to go move somewhere else, where
study is better and more affordable. So I decided to move in to US to stay with
my brother. After few months of hard working and saving every single penny I
finally had enough money to buy myself a ticket to US.
My flight landed but this time I was not so scared because
I know I have my family here, this place did not feel so strange like how it
was in the UK. America was a much better experience in here people were a lot
different, and much helpful. The good part was I did not even lose my luggage
this time. Well that was a good start, after that everything went how as it was
planned out. When I got out of the airport I saw my brother, which was great
relief. Felt really good seeing someone of my own, it always feels good to see
someone from your family. We went home from there and we talked about life on
our way home. I shared my experience, but did not want to tell him a lot
because that could hurt him after all he is my blood. His house was decorated
much like our house in Pakistan. It felt like home away from home. We talked
for a while then I went to sleep. The next morning at the breakfast table my
brother asked me “so what are your plans for the future” I told him I want to
continue on my education and have a part time job as well. So he offered to
help him out in his business. I always wanted to start on my education, and I
was already behind because of London. I went to the nearest community college
talked to an adviser, and he gave me an overview on how to begin. But
unfortunately I was little late for fall semester so I signed up for the spring
classes. But I did not want to waste any more time so in the fall I took the
driving classes got my driver license and also was making good money by helping
out my brother in his business. Spring classes began the weather was very cold
but that still did not stop me to achieve my dreams. I took English classes so
I can fit in with the rest, first it was a little hard but as the time passed I
got better and better. This was an end to my long journey.
In life, I have seen a lot and have seen it all. I know
how it feels to move from US to Pakistan and to fit in with a joint family.
Joint family is a struggle in itself but after few sacrifices and few
compromises you can make it possible. But to be honest those were the best time
of my life. I still miss my good days I had with my cousins. Those made me a
strong person and help me fight all the problems I had in the future. Moving to
London was the worse but the best decision. Things that I learned there all the
tough time I have been through and realize just two things in life are the most
important. Those things are your self-confidence and your family. If a man has
these two things he can achieve the world. After all the bad nights there is a
brighter day. Everything went my way after I came to US and lived with my
brother. I cannot thank him enough for all the things he did for me. Now I
realize why GOD gave me such a good childhood he was making me stronger for the
future. In life, I have seen a lot good and bad, but I still want to thank GOD
for whatever he gave. I hope my life stays this way and will not face anymore
problems.
