WeiHao Zhong
Getting through the Crisis
There is always sunshine after the rain, and I like the warm sunshine. After the rain, sunshine floods in through the open curtains, and I always sit basking in the warm sunshine. I hope that my life will be full of sunshine, but sometimes there is no sunshine in the financial markets. Stocks and bonds can bring a lot of additional income in a short time, but they are doubleedged swords because financial crises recur periodically. In 2008, the financial crisis not only occurred on Wall Street, but also brought a heavy blow to my family. Because of the market crash, my father suffered huge losses in this global financial crisis, and my mother and sister lost their jobs at that time because their companies cut staff in order to consolidate the global financial crisis. The financial crisis made jobs very hard to find even though my mother had enough work experience. Therefore, in order to get through this crisis, my family chose to immigrate to the U.S and begin a new life.
At the beginning, all of my family’s hopes lay in Chicago because we wanted to get through our life crises in this city. The first step to adapting to a new life was finding new jobs, but it was hard for my mother and sister to find a good job in the United States because their English was poor. In addition, even though my mother and sister wanted to find new jobs in Chinatown, we lived on the north side of Chicago, which was far away from Chinatown. Luckily, they found a job helping our Chinese neighbors take care of their children. Even though the job only had low pay, my family needed money to live, so they did not have a choice. Moreover, although my mother knew that our lives would be better after adapting the new condition in Chicago, she wanted to go back to China because she missed her hometown. I always saw my mother glancing at the window in the evening and weeping in silence.
Moreover, during the Wall Street financial crisis, my father lost all his savings in the market cash. When my family first came to the United States, we did not have enough money to support our lives. Unluckily, my father had to work in China until retirement; otherwise, he would lose his pension. Therefore, my father had to go back to China and continue working. When my father went back to China, he still needed to come the U.S every four months because it was a requirement for permanent residence in the United States. In addition, my father had a hard time when he stayed in China without his family, so he also told me that each time he saw an airplane fly in the sky, his heart wanted to follow the airplane to the United States. Despite these hardships, we knew that we will able to be family reunion in the future.
Furthermore, this crisis let me learn more about how to go through hard times in my life in the U.S. No matter how hard life is, I never give up. In addition, I feel lucky because I have the chance to receive a good education even though it is not always easy to attend a good university for new immigrants who live in the United States. If I wanted to attend a good university in America, I would need to pass my ESL classes and earn enough college credit. Moreover, I did not find a part job when I arrived because I wanted to pay more attention to improving my English. Even though I have made great progress in my English, I will keep working hard in the future.
To conclude, everyone goes through some crisis at some point in their lives. There is always sunshine after the rain is not only one of my favorite songs, but it has also become my motto. When I see the news about the financial crisis, I always think about this crisis and how it affected my father, mother, sister, and me. Now I understand the stock market has inherent risks, and I will try my best to find a stable job in the future. Maybe this financial crisis has changed our lives, but my family still successfully got though it and began new lives in Chicago. I also believe that nothing is impossible as long as there is sunshine after the rain.
your essay is very inspirational. Where you fall,you stand up. i am very appreciate your family faced the financial crisis firmly. by the way, i also like that songs; it made me conquer many challenges in my life.
ReplyDeleteHi Weihao.
ReplyDeleteYour essay is great. Your essay reminds me about some things that I have lived in my life too. It was really hard for me to get a job and make friends when I moved to the United States. Therefore, I decided to take English classes to adapt myself into this country and culture. It always make me smile when I see people that never give up to accomplish their goals.
Good,good good. "sunshine after the rain".....
ReplyDeleteYour family story has inspired me a lot. It should be hard for your father since he has to go and back many times per year. However, you know, having part-time job is a really good way to improve English. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteThank you!
DeleteGood essay I really enjoy to read your essay, you have clear ideas and your paragraphs are well organize thank you for sharing with us you story.
ReplyDelete