Character: Amanda, her parents, her five brothers, and her friend Michi
Setting/ Time: not available
Setting/ Place: Mexico, Mexicali, Los Angeles.
Plot: Amamda is going to move to Los Angeles but she feels scared about the move.
Perspective: first-person viewpoint
Gerne: Realistic fiction
The story “My Diary from Here to There” was written by Amada Irma Pérez. It talks about a girl named Amada and the time of her life of moving to Los Angeles. Amada was going to bed when she overheard her parents talking about moving to California because her father lost his job. She wants to write everything down in her diary. The next morning, Amada’s mother told everything and Amada went to the park with her friend, Michi. They both braided each other’s hair and picked a smooth, heart-shaped stone so they wouldn’t forget each other. Amanda was sad and nervous about the trip. On the trip, Amada is surprised to see that Mexico and America are not a lot different along the border. They stop and live in their family’s house. The next day, Papá left to get the green cards and look for work. It wasn’t long until the green cards arrived. The family reunites at a bus stop in Los Angeles. To fully understand this story, people should first think about Amada’s attitudes, Papa’s attitudes, and immigrants’ perspectives.
When facing an enormous life-changing situation, people would experience the attitude change from being shocked and scared at the beginning to getting accepted or even enjoying it at the end. With the events, experiences or person that people have encountered, their feelings and emotions would change from time to time. When Mamá announces the news of the whole family moving to the United States, Amada feels worried about the language problems as well as she might lose her friends or things that she got used to in Mexico. Amada feels surprised when she notices that both the borders of Mexico and America are very similar, suggesting there is not much difference between these two countries. After moving to the United States, Amada begins to accept the new life while still connected to her own culture. When people leave their hometown or familiar surroundings and move to a new or unfamiliar environment, they tend to have worries or culture shock. This is especially true if the hometown and new place are completely different, like moving from one country to another country, suggesting people need to learn a new language, adjust to a new lifestyle, or making new friends who might not be the same kind. Naturally, most people don’t want to experience such life-changing situations. But sometimes such change is not something people could control. Instead of rejecting or disliking the change, people should try to have an open mind, learn about the new place, and adjust themselves to the new change.
Even though there are many unexpected uncertainties and difficulties in the life-changing situation, people should keep their heads up and be optimistic. Having hope, believing faith, and connecting to family members could help people go through and overcome the difficulties. Papá was a farmworker picking grapes and strawberries in the fields of Delano, 140 miles north of Los Angeles. Although this job is hard and tiring work with below-average pay, Papá never complained. He stays positive, hoping to get enough money for helping his family to get the green cards so they can start a new life in the United States. As an immigrant, Papá lives in a tough situation because of the tiring hard job with little pay. Papá was not treated nicely or fairly. But Papá was holding a hopeful attitude, looking at the bright side of the future. Having a positive attitude means being optimistic about situations. Papá believes if he works hard, he could earn more money, save them, and use those money to help his family apply for green cards. In his mindset, Papá did not complain. His positive attitude acts as a channel for achieving goals of being with his family. If people have positive attitudes and stay hopeful, they would be able to see the best and come close to the best soon even in difficult situations.
Immigrants coming from their own country to the United States of America looking for opportunities to make money, pursuing their American Dream. The American Dream is the belief that anyone, no matter where they are from or what social status they are in, have the equal opportunity to make money, being successful in a society. Papá lost his job in Mexico, so they are immigrating to America. They think there will be better opportunities in America. They think having work and some salary is better than having no work and staying in Mexico with no salary for the month. They want to have the American Dream for everyone in the family to stay in America. The United States is a Land of Opportunity for immigrants, looking for their own American Dreams. People choose to immigrate for many different reasons. In the late 18th century people from England came to the United States because of the famine and job shortage. The California Gold Rush between 1849 and 1882 attracted many Chinese immigrants to dig gold and make money. Some people immigrate to the United States looking for better job opportunities and life while others look for freedom, trying to escape violent government or wars. But the American Dream does not guarantee each immigrant would be successful in the end. Immigrants should work hard with both hands and make efforts even sometimes they might sacrifice something in order to make their American Dream come true.
The story, My Diary from Here to There, is a very inspiring story. It teaches readers, especially for immigrants, to have hopeful and optimistic attitudes toward the new environment that are very different from their previous life, even though the new environment is not what they expected. At the same time, people should have an open mindset to recognize the new changes, accept the new changes, and adjust themselves to the new changes. Although people are far away from their own hometown, they should keep and pass their own language and culture to their future generations.
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