Munther 1

Gayth Munther
Professor Agosta
UWRT 1102 018
23 September 2014
The Transition
We all do not choose when or where we are born. The different environments that we are
brought into impact our lives a great deal. The people whom raise us immensely influence how
we carry ourselves and who we eventually become. But we all have something distinct,
something that makes us who we are. A unique characteristic we, individually, possess that is
always changing as we gain experiences and discover the world we live in. The way we see
ourselves, our identity, is a powerful force that can help us overcome obstacles, face our fears
and propel us to accomplish boundless things.
I was unluckily born in an area of the world that many consider dangerous, the Middle
East, at a time of hardship. On the other hand, I was lucky enough to be born in an amazing
family. My father was very proud of me as I was his first child; he encouraged me to be curious
about the world and taught to be a rational being. Similarly my mother raised me to be respectful
of people no matter who they are. We are all made of flesh and bones, she always said. With
this environment in mind, I had a positive introduction to my culture and religion.
As a child, I never understood that my country, Iraq, was in an ongoing war with the rest
of the world. That however changed very quickly, as the living conditions plummeted down to
unlivable conditions during which electricity was rarely available and food was rationed by the
government. I clearly remember the first day of the war. I woke up to the sound of bomber sirens
at six in the morning, warning people to hide in their basements. The U.S. military was

Munther 2
progressing from the south to the capital and in two weeks they did just that. At that point, it was
impossible to live in Iraq for another day without the fear of being immediately killed. After two
months of struggling to find a safe place to reside in, my father decided that it was time to leave
this country. Two day later, the rest of my family came to visit us to say their goodbyes. They
have decided to stay, as crazy as that seemed; they were tied to land. Their heritage, culture and
identities were tangled in this country. We conversely left Iraq (our previous lives waited behind)
and Egypt was our destination.
With its rich culture, Egypt was where my Middle Eastern identity was formed. I was a
lot older and understood more about the world than when I was in Iraq with its one-sided media.
I excelled at school and began learning to speak a second language, English. Many of the friends
I made in Egypt I still keep in touch with today and I feel that they have influenced the person
that I am. After a couple of years in Egypt, my parents acquired a chance to migrate to the
United States. We all knew that it was a risk, but after long discussions and much research, it
was agreed upon to go to the United States.
The first few minutes in the United States were eye-opening moments. It was a different
place than anywhere that I have been before. I realized, as my memories from Iraq and Egypt
flashed before my eyes, that I must make something of this; I can make my familys efforts
worthwhile. I was lucky and grateful to be of the few that made it out alive from a war.
After that, the coming months were the most challenging. I attended high school,
knowing very little about American social norms and culture. Awkward encounter after another,
I slowly began learning about what is acceptable and what is not (I learned the hard way). I
spoke English at the time but it was not sufficient enough for learning new material.
Consequently, I was put in a class that taught English as a second language (ESL). The teacher in

Munther 3
my English class had an enormous effect on how I progressed throughout the transition; she was
very supportive and tolerant of my different background; she taught me a lot about American
culture. The students in the ESL class were very different than the students in the American
classes. There I met students from different places in the world. From Russia to Nepal, most of
them were all interesting and friendly. I had much trouble fitting in because all of the new things
that I was learning made me insecure about how I was different. But slowly I learned that it was
okay to be different and as time went on I became more confident of who I am becoming. A new
association between my experiences in the United States and myself was formed, my American
identity.
With my two identities, as a Middle Easterner and American, I have two perspectives to
view the world from. My outlook on life is different than if I only had one perspective; it is more
interesting. I have two different sets of values that can be applied to a subject to gain knowledge.
With people, I think I have become more tolerant because I have seen and talked to so many
kinds of people from different countries and cultures. My interest in cultures grew when I
learned to accept social norms and values other than the ones I was brought up with. I am always
excited to associate more experiences with each of my identities. And finally my love for
knowledge about the world expanded as more gates of knowledge opened up.
Even though each individual experience of my life, on its own, does not have much
impact, when added up, they become something substantial. As I experience more things in life,
I look back at the hardships that I have been through and I recognize that if I was able to
overcome more difficult obstacles, then I am ready for whatever life holds for me.