Heaven or Hell

 Heaven or Hell 

    Before immigrating, people thought that living aboard could be better than in their country, but when they arrive and face the challenges, some may change their minds. My story began when I met my boyfriend, who is a U.S. citizen. He described the U.S. as heaven, and I thought I should rescue myself from the hell of my country Iran. I forced myself to work and passed the IELTS exam, so I could get admission from one of the universities in Chicago. After all the trying and hard finally, I arrived in the U.S. In the beginning, Chicago was a perfect place for my night and daydreaming. However, after a month, my challenges started. I had to build myself into a new person, and I had to fit into the new life and gain new things. For most of my life, I never thought I would need to change just to live in other countries until I came to Chicago.

    After immigration, there are several challenges that an individual is going through to fit in the new place. The most essential challenge that I faced was cultural conflicts between the United States and  Iranian culture. People's behavior was the first cultural difference that came to my mind. Moreover, I had to figured out different behaviors when people greet each other. For instance, shaking hands is a must in Iran regardless of the relationship between two people. However, in the United States people greet each other based on how close they are. The second important challenge that I faced was language. Learning English is the most common problem that people who immigrate to the United States have. I was not an exception even though I passed the IELTS exam. The IELTS exam is a good practice for learning academic English, but it is not useful in daily and common conversations. Also, it didn’t help to develop my listening skills. For example, I had a hard time understanding different accents in Chicago, and I was scared to speak with someone over the phone. 

    Despite all the challenges that I had, the U.S. gave me another life that I never had before that gives me new experiences. For example, I never managed a house in Iran and my parents always did everything, but right now I need to be independent. I am required to pick up responsibilities. For example, I have to clean my home, buy the groceries, and cook the meals. Furthermore, four years ago I didn’t know even an English word. However, my dream of immigrating to the United States required me to learn a new language. About a year, I studied hard and learned English and I’m still learning. The U.S. gave me the opportunity to learn another language and meet a new community.

    In conclusion, immigration can create a new person, and it gives some values, challenges, opportunities, and achievements. Sometimes, I am supposed be a person that I’ve never been, or I should change the routines. While most people who live in their country think that living abroad is like heaven, I believe it’s like the process of making a diamond. Diamonds need to the high pressure and temperature, and after they get high values. If want to be successful in the future, soI need to pay the price now. That is the moral of my story.