Alisson’s College Essay
“Mom, please explain in English! You’re confusing me!” These were the words my mom
heard throughout my life. From kindergarten through high school, whenever we sat
down at the kitchen table to try and understand a concept I missed while in school, all I
heard was a jumble of English and Arabic words that didn’t go together. Although I was
fluent in both languages, when It came to school work, it was so much harder to
understand since it contradicted everything I was hearing in school. Years of restless
nights at that kitchen table were the bane of my existence, struggling to piece together
what my mom was trying to tell me I had to do. Every time my mom would explain
something to me and confusion would fill my face, I would look up at her, seeing that
she was feeling just as defeated as I was. I desperately didn't want to hurt her feelings
so I would just say “Oh, thank you, mom, I think I get it now”. I was so lost but I had no
other option than to ask my mom. Asking my dad was completely out of the question
because I knew the moment I would ask him a question, I’d get a “Go ask your mother”.
To make a difficult situation worse, both my parents were educated in Europe, which
has an extremely different education system than here. Everything my mother would
tell me to do and try to get me to understand was different than how my American
teachers told me to do it. Every time I would go to a friend's house who had an English
or History teacher mom, or even a mom who just spoke perfect English I would wish I
was in their place. I felt hopeless, until high school. I finally felt comfortable enough to
stay after school and ask my teachers questions. I also found youtube videos to be
extremely helpful. Looking back at first glance it seems like my parents weren’t much
help in shaping me academically, but I realize that they actually gave me so much
more. They taught me to value language. I speak Arabic one of the hardest languages
in the world, along with some french; having these two languages in my corner are skills
that I can’t imagine my life without. My parents also gave me the independence and
courage to try and solve my problems on my own and then to ask for help. All those
restless nights my mom would stay up with me working just as hard as me to
understand the material showed me how much kindness a person can have and she
shaped me into the person I am today. Now when I remember the times where I wished
I had English speaking parents like my American friends, I laugh at how naive I was
and how fortunate I am to have what I grew up with instead.