In 2014 when I was nine years old my sister and I used to joke about going to live in a different country such as Uganda, Canada and Sweden. At the time, these were among the countries we knew and heard many good things about them. I remember my sister saying things like, “imagine us going to America” and I and my whole family would all laugh. But I also remember one time after she said this, I looked at my mom and my dad and they made eye contact with each other and just smiled while we joked and laughed. I found it weird because all of us laughed about it but they did not.

A year later, in the middle of the night I went to use the restroom and I overheard my parents talking, saying, “we are moving next year.” I was so excited.  I also thought we were just going to stay in the same city of Bukavu, our hometown in the Congo. Then, in 2017, my dad called all of us for a family meeting and in that meeting, my parents told us we are in the process of moving to another country. “Where are we going?” we asked.  My dad said in French “Grande Puissance” which he called the U.S., meaning “major power.” I started to jump around with excitement, I couldn't believe what I heard. I was excited to the point I thought I was losing my mind. I thought I was dreaming. Then my dad told us to keep it a secret. This was a normal thing in my country, if you are traveling, you are not supposed to tell anyone or else they might set plots on you and make sure everything goes wrong for your travel.

In the process of coming to the United States, there were two specific issues we faced: immigration and financial problems, but my parents did not tell me about this until late in the process. The immigration process was challenging because of the documents demanded by the immigration officers. The Congolese government denied our documents many times, saying we were missing some of the signed documents. My parents and older siblings would go several times to the immigration office. We continued to face struggles and delays even after we provided all the required documents. In addition, there were high fees for every adult to pay to process the documents, this was a struggle at that time because we did not have enough money. My parents were forced to take loans from our family and friends. We almost gave up. I felt discouraged knowing that we were trying our best, but it was still not working. But then after years of trying, our documents were finally accepted.

One week before we left my parents didn’t tell me we were leaving, instead they told me we needed to bring a present to my grandmother. I learned at my grandmother's house that we were finally going to the United States. I learned too that my mom and sister sold their expensive jewelry and my little brother's bike to help raise money for our plane tickets.

I was so excited that we were moving but it was also a sad moment knowing that I was leaving family members and friends without even saying goodbye to them. We did not tell anyone until we got to the U.S.

I was 12 years old when I came to the United States of America. With all the challenges we faced, we are grateful we overcame them. In settling here we had to learn the system of this country and the language. Lucky for me, I came here in America at a young age which made it easier for me to learn the system and the language faster.

My family and I left my country for a better opportunity in the U.S., which I really appreciate my family for. Overall my journey to America was a transformative experience. The challenges my family and I faced along the way made us become stronger, resilient and more open-minded. With this opportunity I have been able to complete my dreams.

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