My Life’s Journey: Overcoming Challenges and Embracing New Opportunities

My Life’s Beginning: A Miracle Birth

Life is a mystery, filled with realities that are sometimes difficult to digest. Its explanation requires a pearl of wisdom that we acquire as we grow. I am the youngest of my family, and my parents gave birth to me at an advanced age at the risk and peril of my life and that of my mother. The doctor, after all, exams, alerted my family that my mother did not have enough of her force to give birth, and at that time and at any price, her pregnancy should be removed.

The whole family was of the same opinion as the doctor, except the mother, who refused the doctor’s proposal. She had become the subject of mockery to the family and to the neighborhood, saying that it is shameful at your age to have the pregnancy. Everyone was unhappy knowing that my mother would have died at my birth, but God did a miracle. I was born safe and sound.

Overcoming Challenges in my Early Life

My growth was delayed, and I started to crawl at a year of age which scared Mum as the walk was very complicated; momMom used traditional techniques to regulate my muscle by digging a hole to my size and introduced me to it at the point that I was obliged to have standing position under her supervision just to stimulate my walk. This technique taught me how to walk, and one morning I got up and started walking; it was shouts of joy from my family member and neighbors because everyone thought I was physically disabled, seeing the stunted growth that was manifested in my childhood. This technique finally allowed me to start walking. ‘’ Better late than never’’ said Chaucer.

My Life’s Turning Point: Winning the DV Lottery and Immigrating to America

In 2013, I played the DV lottery, and to my surprise, I received a congratulatory letter from the federal government saying that I won the lottery and that I was eligible to immigrate to the United States. America to live and work. This news has dazzled my head with joy and anguish at the same moment as I should leave my country and my family too. I went to the consulate of the United States to go to the interview without any problem. The visa was given to me, and the family will follow me afterward. Leaving the family was hard for me, but I had to. I had taken my flight from Kinshasa to Chicago for a very long trip. I was tired. As soon as I walked down to Chicago, I was almost lost seeing the grandeur, the traffic, the difficulty to see further, and the light everywhere; it was amazing and, at the same time, frustrating.

Adjusting to a New Life: Overcoming Language and Climate Barriers

I faced two problems at the exit of the airport. The climate was cold; I felt my toes frozen and my ears and lips numb as I shivered. Language was the second subject of stress. I was wondering if I was going to get away because the English I was crafting were not enough because most Americans speak fast and with an accent I never heard. I had disgust with living in the United States, but friends advised me to go to church so I would have the opportunity to meet with others to share some ideas and know what they did to succeed in living here. I was told that to solve the English problem; you have to go to Hawkeye to register for the English course, and to solve the climate problem, it is just to protect yourself with clothing adapted to each climate.

On the first day of my college, I was dumb, and I felt that I was too inferior to others as I was not quick in speaking as well as slow in listening but encouraged by the teacher Julie Vandekreke who taught the reading course, a lady teaching skills knowing that I was a neophyte and needed her help to get through academic life. She had patience with me when I made mistakes. She went beyond her limits to make me understand the lessons on writing and reading, which allowed my integration.

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