The Beast

A Journey to Remember

Coming from Nigeria, English was foreign to me, but when I came to North Carolina I would have to deal with the adversities of learning this brand new language, and finding a way to communicate in a new world. It was the spring of 2000 when my parents first told me we were moving to the land of opportunity. I was only six then, so I didn’t quite understand why we were moving. All knew was that I was not going to see my friends and family for a while and that we were moving in a couple of months. The rest of spring was tedious, filled with anguish and gloom, but I new to future held many challenges and adventures to come.

After saying goodbye to friends and family, I stepped into a plane headed to Raleigh, North Carolina, where my Aunt Jumika lived. The lengthy flight seemed like an eternity, but also gave me time to reflect on all of the precious memories I had in Nigeria: walking to Nymde Park with my family and playing soccer on the soft, crisp grass with my friends Waile and Muhammad. As we were launching off I could feel my heart racing and my feet swelling. As we got up higher in the air, I remember looking out the window; the clouds were so close it seemed as if I could reach out and grab one. The plane ride was fun but I was anxious to get to America.

Finally, after the long wait, we arrived at Raleigh Durham Universal airport.

I remember feeling our plane land and hearing our flight attendant telling us to remain seated. To my delight, my parents and I were sitting in business class, so we were one of the first to exit the plane. As my shoe sole stepped on American soil for the first time, I enthusiastically examined my surroundings. Like a deer struck with headlights, my eyes open widely at the craftsmanship of the buildings. I could feel the moist, windy air blowing at my face and smell the freshly cut grass as a walked towards the building. When we entered the Raleigh Durham Universal airport building, they checked our bags....