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They offered something I didn’t have which actually helped me strive even more

They offered something I didn't have which actually helped me strive even more. Celebrate difference and diversity.

“They offered something I didn’t have which actually helped me strive even more.”

I’m not from the US as you can see. I grew up in Africa but I was born in New York so I came recently with my father, five years ago and I moved to New York at first. I was there for awhile then I moved to Los Angeles where I wanted to pursue my education and there are so many things happening. I’m young, I’m building my life but being an outsider is not always easy you know. People can not really relate to you and you have to learn to relate to other people. Because Los Angeles is a big place and people coming from all over the world, there is that feeling that you are not actually alone. People here, like you, also doing something and trying to seek something. I am doing what I am doing. I have a different perspective. I see things from a different angle, from where I am things were not always as easy as here. I did not have a job, not because I didn’t want to work but because the jobs were not there.
 
What inspired me was that they offered something I didn’t have which actually helped me strive even more, to accomplish more. I guess that’s the migrant story. Every migrant says the same thing but besides that I’m trying to reach as far as I can. It’s not always easy but we are doing it every day.
 
My sister used to have a stuffed toy and I used to play with it. I used to bother her because I liked it when she was mad so I would run around the house with her little, she had a kind of giraffe. I used to take it and run around the house. 
~ Be the X tra in Ordinary ~ Perfect Reject Stories ~ Celebrate Difference