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Pursuing the American dream became my goal. But not at first.
Was the world too harsh, or did I view the world in a negative light? Maybe it was just the environment I was in. Hearing about the deaths of my family and friends, my tears seemed to have dried up the Euphrates River, similar to how the blood of my friend dried up while he was running from war.
During those days, my only source of music was the sound of gunshots. Bang! Bang! Bang! I wondered why the world abandoned me.
Did the world really abandon me? The question that ran through my head at the age of five. The first time was the result of war.
I vividly remember the world dancing with a unique rhythm. They sang songs filled with laughter, screams, and shouting. Things got worse after one of our community leaders died. My grandmother cried and cried as if she had lost a loved one.
Suddenly, everything started turning pitch black. Bam! I fell to the ground. Nobody understood what was wrong with me. I was hospitalized for a long time. I remember Grandma feeding me a spoonful of rice porridge; Icould still see the heat coming out of the bowl. The warm sensation of the porridge lingered on my tongue. Desperately, I tried licking off all of the sugar that was on the spoon. Magically, I got better. The joy I felt in that moment was only for a while.
I remember the day my grandmother told me that I was going to meet my Mom. I was wondering what she meant by that because I considered her as my Mom. I went to Zambia on a journey to see my birth mother. I was nervous, confused, and sad. that my entire life felt like a lie. I finally met my mother. She was young-looking. My life started to change from that point on.
I began to to think about pursuing the American dream. The idea started to manifest. My Mom got called by the refugee organization stating that we got accepted to come to America.
My face lit up as if it was face-to-face with the sun. My dream of being a nurse now was closer than ever.
One day, I will be able to give back to my communities and to those who helped me during this journey of mine.
Written by Adelle Kasongo
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