Grades 7-8 Honorable Mention: Yajing

I almost forget what is was like when we arrived to America, but listening to my mother’s emotional voice when she answered my questions during the interview, all the scenes started to reappear in my brain like a piece of wood slowly ascending from the deep water.

It was in the middle of November when we first arrived to Malden from China. I remember the fierce cold weather and the freezing air that went through my nostrils and sucked into my lungs as my mother described the scene when we stepped out from Logan airport. I could imagine how my mother felt when she saw the empty street and the dim street light on our way towards uncle’s house, because we both felt strange.

“In China, people were crowded together at night. People shopped, ate and strolled around. I still remember the noisy cars squeezed together on the big wide road.” My mother said it excitingly as if she was in the scene that she had just described. “When I arrived to your uncle’s house, my eyes were wide open, because it just looked like a castle.”

My mother said it with a smile and a bit of exaggeration, “I still remember the first time when I walked around inside the house, I almost got lost as if I was walking through a maze.”

My mother’s first job in America was a cashier in a supermarket. As my mother was working, she was also looking for English classes around Malden. Soon, my mother changed her job because she joined an English class. As she was joining the English class, my mother got to know more people.

My mother’s second job was also a cashier in a bakery located in Chinatown. My mother told me that she had a little pressure working in the bakery as a cashier, because there were many English speakers and sometimes she didn’t understand what they were saying.

My mother once said, “When I live in here, I promise I will give you a better life and no matter how difficult it is for me, I still think it is worth it.”

This was like an imprint that carved in my brain that I will remember forever. My mother strives and works hard to take good care of me.

Soon, she had her third job. She worked in a factory that makes electronic products.

“This job was not easy for me, but I loved my job.” My mother’s voice contained a bit of stress when she said this, but I could also feel the confidence within her. My mother told me that working in the factory was really easy and comfortable once you know how to operate the machine. However, my mother still changed her job two years later.

“When you give something to someone, the one will never feel satisfy of what they have and they will want more.” My mother’s quote has an explicit meaning. My mother changed her job to a housekeeper in Marriot Hotel. I understand why she changed her job, because she could get a higher salary working in the hotel.

This job is really hard for my mother. In order to work in the hotel, my mother had to go through an interview. This process was difficult for a woman that did not know much about English. However, I knew she was well prepared, and she did work in the hotel successfully.

Now her wrinkles on her face have increased, and there are always two or more stripes of gray hair appearing. My mother has made a lot of sacrifices for me and I can hardly imagine what my life would be without her.