Life

By: Feng Mei Liu

Life is fulfilling with obstacles but also with hopes. Life is bitter but also sweet. Whenever a person meets obstacles, life may be bitter. However, whenever this person has solved all the obstacles, life may be sweet and brilliant for him/her again.

No life is without changes. For me, I have seen and experienced many turning points in my life. Among them, one of the biggest changes in my life is the time when I immigrated to the United States. At that time, everything I saw and heard was totally strange to me. And I knew nothing - not knowing English, not knowing how to communicate with others, not understanding people, and not having any money. Life was tasteless to me because I could not do anything. Everything I did was useless and helpless, and it just looked like a deaf and dumb person does. I felt like I stepped into a labyrinth and lost my directions, and did not know how to exist. Moreover, I could describe the first couple of months that I lived in the United States as "black months" because at that time, my life was filled only with the black color, and everything was hopeless to me. Despite the fact, I still felt optimistic of my future because I believed when the harsh time passes, life would become better and enjoyable. Because of that, I began to study very hard; to study how to speak accurate English and how to make myself fit into this "melting pot." At the beginning, I was not quite successful. Instead, I fell down many times because of my poor English - no one would understand what I was talking about. I felt so upset and isolated. Nevertheless, when I learned from my aunt of how she overcame all her obstacles when she first came to the United States, and became successful and had a better life, my life filled with hope again. During this time, I put myself into an even more hard condition: in the morning, as I woke up, I started to recite the new words. Additionally, since I am a bashful person, and really did not talk a lot in the classes, I began to talk to myself, and practiced with my cousins who could speak fluent English. Day after day I practiced, now, my English has leaped a big step forward and I finally found enjoyment in this new country.

When the harsh time passes, life becomes sweet and interesting. For instance, I have enjoyed a great summer while I studied at Buffalo State College. That was a wonderful summer program and I have learned a great many things from it. For example, I got some ideas about dorm life, how the college looks and works, and how to deal with different kinds of people after studying there. Furthermore, by participating in this program, I obtained many valuable experiences and much more knowledge, and it helped to open my eyes wide. Also, by becoming involved in the school activities, such as doing school services, monitor in the departments and joining the Chinese Student Club, all of those things had helped to enrich my knowledge and work experience.

As an immigrant from China, I, Feng Mei, with the surname Liu, have learned that life is not always the same as what I wished it to be, but with the self-esteem, experiences, and strength, I truly believe that I can control my life and climb the ladder of success.

back to Student Work Menu