First Year- Shahriyar Khaki, junior

I was sleepy, but at the same time too excited to see America that I didn’t want to even blink.  It was almost afternoon. My aunt got us a taxi to go to her house on 42nd Street and 2nd Avenue.  Throughout the whole time I was in that taxi, I pressed my face on the window so that I could see as much as I could of the buildings; I pressed so hard that my nose turned into a mini ball like a clown’s nose.  All I could see was never ending buildings which reached the sky.

After a 20 minute car ride we reached the house.  The second I stepped out of the car I could smell the beautiful flowers around me; it was like I was being greeted by the nature around me.  When we walked into the building the first thing I saw was a beautiful lobby full of paintings and flowers which made it look like we were  in a rich house from the 1980’s era .  I explored around the first floor like I was in the White House, during 2016,  where President Obama lived. As I was wandering around my aunt got a hold of me and told me, “ Alright shah! I know you are excited, but, for now let's go to our apartment and get some rest. We will go and explore the area later when we are rested.”  So I grabbed my two bags and went to the elevator which took us to the 20th floor. When we reached the 20th floor, exactly the second the elevator’s door opened, I felt like I knew this place.  It was like this was not the first time I have been in this building and this exact floor.  It was strange to me so I thought about it for a minute or two, but I got nothing out of it.  Therefore, I told my aunt about this strange feeling and as it turns out a Batman film scene was recorded in this house!  

I replied sharply, “Aha!!! No wonder I feel like I already know this place.”  At last, we went inside our home and got some well needed shut eye for the rest of the day.


Five weeks later


The school year started a week ago. I was a sixth grader starting in a new country, new house, new language, a new life. I was not aware of what was going on.  All I did was to make sure I stuck to my classmates so I wouldn't get lost.  I didn’t have many friends, or should I say I had no real friends.  However, there was this kid named JJ.  I took him as a bully, but all he was trying to do was to talk to me.  JJ sat next to me every day at lunch time.  We Used to talk about all sorts of things.  In other words, JJ would talk about all sorts of things and I would listen.  

For instance, one day JJ started going on and on about how I should teach him my home language; he said, “ Hey, Shahriyar, how do you say Hello in Farsi?”

 “Salom,” I said. And so it went on and on about what all types of words sounded like and how they were pronounced.  I was always tired of him talking so much.  I was so tired that I learned how to say, “Shut up.”  

So from then on, I used to tell him to shut up and all he said in reply was, “Nice! You are starting to learn English.”  This used to happen almost every day.



A while after


While I was in school I received a letter from my teacher; she told me to give it to my mom.  I was never sensitive about sharing anything and telling anything, that my school did, to my parents.  Afterschool, when I got home I gave my mom, Shahla, the letter. She didn’t open it and she left it on the table and said, “ I will look at it after lunch, now let’s go eat.” After lunch, I went on to play video games with my ipad.  While I did that, Shahla opened the letter and started to read it.  After she read the letter she called me and said, “Shahriyar come here, now!”  She was loud and sad.  When I got to her she told me that the school told her that I am failing all of my classes and that I can’t keep going like that.  I was shocked; I felt a coldness in my stomach; I couldn’t talk, I was speechless.


That evening everything changed.  My daily routine became much harder.  Everyday basically went like, wake up, go to school, come home, eat lunch, do homework for six hours, and sleep with still some more homework unfinished.  I did not have my ipad anymore, nor did I have any phone.  For what I knew, the only thing I cared about was my grade.  So all I had to deal with was endless hard work.


End of school year


It was the last week of school.  A lot has happened since that letter. To put it in a nutshell.  Not only that I caught up with my classmates but I managed to have the highest average grade.  I won an invitation to one of New York's famous museums for a science project I did. I also won a prize for a short film me and my small group of people from a film making camp made over thanksgiving.  I turned everything upside down in my life with only determination and hard work, a lesson which I learned and never forgot.