A Wild Goose Flying In the Sky by AnQi Du (age 19)

My life is like a wild goose flying in the sky. That move from the twilight to the morning sunlight, I am moving from busyness to quietness, to coldness and dark, then to warmness. And I am a wild goose. I pass one day in my life on the strange sky when I am flying. This is a mystery tour, full of hope, and being surprised.

In my country, my life was a hectic goose flying when the warm sunshine run away with the sun low. My city is a large urban place in China. There are many cultural relics. Sometimes I could feel I was walking in a period before the present time. However, there also are many fashionable streets. I felt like the time was interlaced with past and now. Many malls and stores were along the roads and streets. When I walked, I always smelled some incense of food. On Saturday or Sunday, I went shopping and ate more yummy snacks with my friends. I enjoyed weekends.

In contrast, I was just a very busy school-girl from Monday to Friday. I studied everything. I was very busily and hurriedly passed my life. One day, my parents told me, “We are ready to move to the U.S.” After that, I suspended my schooling and began staying in my home. My busy life was stopped. Everything was like the quiet twilight, and I was the lonely wild goose which broke with the flock in the twilight.

I came to Seattle from my country with my family by airplane on March, 2010. On the last day, my family had dinner in a restaurant together. All people congratulated us, but I didn’t feel relieved, “Why do we move? What would happen in the future? And what can I do?” I asked my self. My mother had answers for me. She hoped for us to have a better life, and she thought we could have a better future in the U.S. Maybe we could study in a great university, or maybe we could find a good job for ourselves in the future, but these were all unknown things. However, I believed my parents, and I also believed I could do that. So I felt upset and excited when we went to the airport. “Good bye, all my loved people and place,” I said to myself. Then I started a long trip, and I was ready to begin my different lifestyle. The mysterious night was coming, and I felt cold when I was flying in the sky.

When I first came to the U.S, I saw many different things. I saw the different streets, people, houses, etc. I started the different life. I remember on my first day, I felt very tired, so I slept a long time. Immediately after that, I woke up and went outside. I saw many plants on the streets, and I breathed the fresh and clean air, and I listened to the birds’ songs. However, I hadn’t met anybody. “In China, there was always a large crowd, but Seattle is a quiet city,” I said to myself, “Here it looks like a rural area.” After that, I found many new things in my new city. There were some new food, the different culture, and lifestyle. I didn’t like changing everything, but I accepted the new life. That was lucky for me. My first night in Seattle, I felt I got into a mysterious night, and my view changed by magic.

I also remember when I went to B.O.C, I felt excited. I started a different and interesting school-life. School wasn’t dull and boring. On the other hand, I felt nervous because I needed to speak English. Language is hard for me, but I can try, and I believer I can do that.

Sometimes I got frustrated in the dark night because the sky is always raining. I don’t like the weather. Some months later, I feel everything is good. I start to like Seattle, and I like the new life. I made many new friends in school, and my language is better than before. Now I look like a wild goose which rejoins a new flock. The flock is flying in the morning sunlight. A new day is coming, and I’m feeling warm.

My life is a wild goose flying in the sky. The sky is changing, and the wild goose started a strange travel. For example, my busy school-life stopped because my family moved to Seattle. Then I started a hard life in Seattle because I began a different life. But I thought I’m a lucky girl because I had a chance to try this different life. I could know many new friends, things, and culture. That was a wonderful life. I liked that. Maybe I felt cool and upset before, but I felt excited for my future. I was a wild goose. I tried a strange travel from twilight to the morning. The view was different and still different. My new flock is flying in the sky, and I’m ready to start another trip in the warm morning with hopeful sunshine.