"The First Big Move" by Noelle M

      May 12, 2007, the 19 hour flight finally ended as the plane landed at JFK International
Airport, New York. Three little girls alongside their parents curiously headed through the jetway
(tube that connects the plane to the airport) to the immigration services, ready to get their
passports examined and confirmed. Outside, they were greeted by a short and jumpy seventy
something years old lady who turned out to be the little girls' grandma(their dad's mom). After
they exchanged their greetings and hugs, they loaded the car and headed off to Bricktown, New
Jersey, where their new lives finally began.
      From outside the house, the little girls heard laughing and screams coming from inside.
When they opened the door they were greeted with a big joyful "WELCOME!" and a bark from
the black and brown miniature pinscher sitting on the couch. The three little girls and their
parents smiled and felt touched that more family came to help celebrate their first day in the
United States.
      The first few days in Jersey was a breeze for the three little girls. Their older cousins took
them out to the park to play baseball, the boardwalk to catch the cool breeze and eat cotton
candy, and even to Six Flags where the youngest of the three sisters rode a roller coaster for the
first time and almost got sick. To the girls, being in America felt like being in paradise. They felt
very well taken care of by their relatives, having new playmates and even sometimes spoiled by
their older cousins. The girls were exposed to a new culture and were given advice on how to
quickly adjust to their new environments. However, after all the fun time they had, reality finally
began to hit. The girls were given bad news that their dad was going back to the Philippines for a
year to finish up work. This hit them hard because after their dad left, the real attitudes of their
cousins and aunt finally showed. This especially affected the youngest of the three girls.
The girls were taught basic skills like washing the dishes, vacuuming, and doing the
laundry. However, they were sometimes their efforts to help out were taken advantage of by their
aunt and cousins. The oldest cousin would order them around, asking them to wash the dishes
even if it's not their turn and to clean around the house while he (the cousin) would go out with
his friends. At the same time, the spoiled little cousin who was only a year younger than the
youngest of the little girl got away with every chore and responsibility he had just because he
"was too young to do anything". Yet, he would still complain about how it wasn't fair that the
three little girls didn't do anything in the house. However, it was very obvious that he was jealous
that they didn't have to go to school yet. As time passed the three little girls were placed under
strict rules. bossed around, and scolded. Life became harder for them and their mom as the time
passed, creating tension between the two families that lived in the same house.
     On top of the tension that built up, one incident with the youngest cousin turned their
lives around. The night the oldest of the three girls and their mom went school shopping, the
other two girls, youngest cousin, and the aunt were left at home. The youngest cousin and
youngest girl were playing house and all of a sudden there was an outburst of tears from the
youngest cousin. What caused his tears? He was pushed by the youngest girl's sister. This wasn't
just for fun however. The cousin started a fight by hitting the little girl on the back and her sister
just came to defend her. But of course his loud scream didn't go unnoticed. His mom came in the
room and started screaming at the girls. It was also a perfect timing because the girls' mom came
back with their oldest sister and heard the commotion from outside. She ran into the room and
calmly asked what was going on only to be answered back with a rude scream from the aunt. It
took awhile for all the arguing to subside, but when it finally did the girls' mom decided to bring
her kids to live with her sister in California. Of course, their dad agreed to this, but it was a hard
decision for him to agree on, considering it meant leaving his mom. After a month or so, the
three girls and their mom left for California hoping to have a better life there.
If you didn't already know, the youngest girl is me. From all the situations I've been
through, the big move to the States was the most difficult for me. However, the months that I
spent with my cousins in Jersey helped me realized how tough life was going to be. It taught me
how to take on responsibilities as simple as cleaning up after myself, which I never did because I
had the luxury of having a nanny back in the Philippines. It also taught me how to be a stronger
individual, being able to tolerate inconsiderable actions being thrown at me. Although things
didn't turn out so great with my family in the east coast, without them I wouldn't be here typing
this blog entry.