Essay Contest Writer Noemy: In Search of New Horizons

We celebrated Adult Ed Week 2015 in many ways.  Many ESL students wrote essays for an essay contest.  The topic of the contest was "I am an Adult School Student and This is My Story."  The essays were wonderful.  

Here, with author Noemy's permission, is one of them:

In Search of New Horizons

Civil war, crime, violence and extreme poverty has driven the exodus of many people from El Salvador to the U.SA.  I am not the exception.  Have you ever imagined living in constant fear, thinking that a situation couldn't be any worse?  It did, my family and I lost our house and were forced to leave our land.  My name is Noemy, and I am a student at the San Mateo Adult School.  This is my story.

I was born in a warm and loving family.  I am the third of eight siblings.  The most joyful time of my life without a doubt was my childhood.  Like most people in my town, we were not a wealthy family.  These are some of my greatest childhood memories.  I remember going outside every afternoon to play baseball with all the kids in the neighborhood.  We would make our own balls out of old socks.  We would also carve our own bats because we didn't have any money to buy baseball equipment.  I also remember going out of town to my aunt's house every summer for the coffee harvest's season.  We would go to this aunt's house to work so we could gain some money to buy our school supplies.  I loved going there because my aunt was very funny.  My siblings and I couldn't wait for bedtime so we could al gather to talk until almost midnight.  my aunt would come every night to our room to tell us popular stories, and very funny jokes.  Once my aunt left the room, we would go happily to sleep.  I had a wonderful childhood!

On a hot summer day of 1987, I took a flight bound for San Francisco.  I was terrified because it was my first time flying. When I heard the announcement that my plane was departing soon, I broke up in a cold sweat.  I looked at my family and saw them smiling at me trying to hide their melancholy for my leaving, but I could see the sadness in their eyes.  the plane left promptly at 1 pm.  I sat down on a seat near the window.  once settled in, I felt a mix of emotions.  I felt joy, anxiety, sadness, and excitement because I was about to start a new chapter of my life.  When the plane took off, I looked won through the window.  I saw the immense ocean and it looked like a giant mirror reflecting the sunlight. I also saw trees moving their branches as if they were waving good bye at me and wishing that I would come back soon.  when the plane reached some altitude, we flew through the clouds, and when we flew over them they looked like cotton candy.  I lowered the window shade and closed my eyes when suddenly the typical turbulences started.  at that time I began to cross myself and to mention all the saints from heaven!  every time the plan shook I would grab the person sitting nearby.   those were the longest five hours of my life.  Soon I calmed down and in a blink of an eye, I reached San Francisco, my new homeland.  What a beautiful city! 

Time has passed since I arrived to this country and her I am, starting again.  now I am a student at the San Mateo Adult School.  This is an institution that contributes to much to the community.  it is a unique and one of kind school; it has a very friendly atmosphere.  it is a one stop shop for education, technology, food, gardening, exercise, and job search.  It has classes day and night.  I appreciate the teachers and the staff; they are very flexible and are always willing to help us.  the school has different schedules to accommodate ours.  I forgot to mention that it also provides us with free parking.  I joined the San Mateo Adult School six months ago, and during my term here I have able to develop both personally and professionally.  I am temporarily unemployed and looking for ways in which my unemployment period could be constructive.  For example, I wanted to brush upon my computer skills and take an ESL and a writing class.  In addition, I wanted to take a job search course.  However, I didn't want to go to four different places.  I was very lucky to have found all these programs in only one location, and for a very minimum fee.  my plan and dream for the future is to find a good job.  with the skills that I have learned in both of my ESL classes, I am equipped with the tools to write an essay.  my job search class has helped me to write an excellent resume.  furthermore, my computer skills have increased greatly.  overall, my stay at this school has been an amazing experience.  thank you for allowing me to be part of this wonderful institution. 

Life has been a wonderful journey.  It is an inevitable process of change.  Currently, I am in the San Mateo Adult School in the great company of my fellow classmates and my teachers.  it is hard to run fast, unless there is someone dangerous chasing you.  For me, the reason I flew to the north as fast as The Road Runner was out of fear from the Salvadorian Civil War.  Life would be boring if everyone would live the same life.  However, like our school director, M. "T" says, "Everyone has a story to tell," and this has been my story.  I hope you have enjoyed reading it and learned a little bit about my life. 


Thank you, Noemy, for sharing your inspiring story.