I awoke with the alarm clock at 6:00 in the morning. It was a beautiful autumn morning, the sun was out, and I could see how much it glowed and hear the wind blowing while the leaves from the trees fell. There were beautiful clouds in the sky and the temperature of the day would be 90 degrees as usual.
I was preparing to go to high school, it was one of my first weeks as a freshman, and I was very excited. I had all my homework done, as always. I was very responsible and studious; since I started elementary school I was always number one in my class. My friends call me “smarty”. Just like in elementary school I was doing really good in high school, I was very active in class, there wasn’t a day where I didn’t participate, I knew the answer to every question the teacher asked, even though they always let me answer last, so that way my other classmates were able to participate. Every time we had to work in groups they all came to me. My teachers and even the principal loved me, to them I was an exemplary student, the "perfect" student; responsible, studious, respectful, friendly and all the good things you can say about a student. I received many academic merit, came from an honorable family, with good academic standing. Had everything any girl my age could want, what else could I ask for?
My life was perfect but I could not appreciate it, and I never thought that all I had could ever change. After arriving home from high school that Monday, my father tells me that on Friday of that week we were going to the U.S. for a month, at first I did not believe him because he had said it that several times, but this time it was true. In high school my parents asked for permission so I could be absent that month and I was granted that permission. I Just needed to pack, I really didn’t know what clothes to take for the trip, all I had in my closet was summer clothes since it was never cold in my country, and I only had very few long-sleeved shirts, my mom told me not to worry about it, that we could buy clothes for the winter in New York, after she said that, I was relieved a little. Something that I could not miss in my luggage were my books, I would lose a month of classes, so I decided to take my books to study while on vacation.
Friday came, we got up very early for the airport, it was the first time I traveled by plane, was very anxious, take a flight to New York where they lived relatives of my father, I got to my seat next to the window, I could see how beautiful my country looked from above, the green tree-covered mountains, beautiful beaches and palm trees, blue sky with beautiful clouds, but when I saw the landscape coming to the city of New York, everything was cloudy, dark, all I could see was the lights coming from the buildings, the whole city was full of lights. When we landed in New York, was very cold, the temperature was 26 degrees, to me was a big difference never felt so cold, even with the air conditioning. My uncle and cousin came to pick us up at the airport, they were very happy that we had arrived safely, got home, I was very happy to see my father's family had not seen much, my little cousins running around the house playing with their games.
After being in New York for a few weeks we traveled to Ohio to visit a cousin of my father, we were just going to be in Ohio for a few days, but those days turned into months and those months turned into six long years.
We arrived to Columbus Ohio, my dad rented a 2 bedroom apartment, when I first got into the apartment it was completely empty, the living room, the dining room, the bedrooms it was all empty, it was just the five of us with 4 suitcases, we slept on the carpet for like 2 weeks, then my father bought 2 beds, and it was like that for the next couple months, we didn’t have where to sit, except for the beds, there was not TV, no internet, no telephone, no communication at all. In mid-November my parents enrolled me and my brother in high school, they