When you think of home, what do you think of? Some people may say they think of their childhood home, a specific city, a gym, a library, or maybe even social media. Others, however, might say that it is wherever your heart feels the most love. The truth is that how we define home is different for everybody. Home can be anywhere you want it to be. But sometimes, that’s not always the case. Often, when people of different races, cultures, or political views are standing face to face with a new ‘home’, they are staring into the eyes of a daunting challenge. Some of these people might tackle the challenge head on, but many of them live their entire life feeling like they're never truly at home because they're never successfully integrated into society. Those who are accepted into the new society are often forced to forget completely about their past. It is not acceptable for them to speak their language, keep their culture, or express their political views. Because acceptance is such a large problem in America, people of different races, cultures, or political views often face challenges that nobody should have to face.
Because people of different races, cultures, or political views are looked down upon, we often block out the fact that at the end of the day they are human like us. “It is because America is a multicultural, multiracial, multiethnic, multilingual nation that she is a great nation” (Buchanan, 68). It is important that people realize that diversity makes America great and that it is okay for people to be different. Immigrants have feelings and deserve a chance to feel like they have found a place that they can call home. Throughout their lifetime, they will face many challenges, but there are three that stand out. The first challenge is that they will always feel as if they don’t belong. Imagine moving to a completely different school, and as soon as you walk in, everybody stares, whispers, laughs, and even makes cruel jokes. How would that make you feel? That is what most of these people face every day. They know they are different, and people pointing it out every day does not help. The second challenge they face is that when they move to a new place, they start at the bottom. “A willingness by ‘immigrants’ to start at the bottom—so they can move up the economic ladder or at least give their kids a shot at the highest rungs—is precisely how the system is supposed to work” (Meyer, 72). Meyer states that this is exactly what immigrants are supposed to do. When immigrants move to America, they come here with nothing. They have no job, no money, no car, and no place to call home. Instead of thinking about how brave they are, people criticize them by saying they are coming here to steal jobs. The last challenge that they often face is isolation. Packing up and leaving their family, friends, and lifestyles is a big factor for most immigrants. Often, they will feel lost, alienated, and disoriented. These are just a few challenges that people of different races, cultures, and political views face when they are trying to find a new place to call home.
Although they may face many challenges while trying to find a place to call home, they will also find that there are some advantages. The first advantage is that they will be able to completely start over. They can get a new job, go to a new school, or even escape the troubles that were occurring where they came from. Although the jobs that they are given may not be the most glorious jobs, they still provide them with a paycheck that can help them tremendously. The second advantage they will have is that they have the chance to do jobs that most Americans are too lazy to do. Because these people come to America with absolutely nothing, they are willing to do job that Americans won't even consider. “You start off at some miserable, low-paying job that at least puts a roof over your family’s head and food on the table” (Meyer, 71). By being given these jobs, they can climb up the ladder and create a life for them and their family. The last advantage that immigrants have is that they can pave the way for their children to be successful individuals. Immigrants can send their children to school, which in the long run benefits them tremendously. Meyer explains in his essay how his grandfather came from Poland and had a very unenjoyable job. The pay was low, the hours were long, and when he finally retired, he could hardly move his fingers or see without thick glasses. However, one of his sons is now a lawyer with a fancy practice on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Ensuring that your child will be successful in life is a huge advantage of immigrating to a new place you call ‘home’. These are some of the advantages people of different races, cultures, and political views face when they are finding a new ‘home’.
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Being an immigrant can greatly affect the process of whether you feel like you are at home once you immigrate to a new place. Often, immigrants are new to the language, culture, and political aspect of the place they are immigrating to. How can someone feel like they are at home if they are seeing and hearing things that they are completely new to? The answer is that many times they never do feel like they are at home. They feel like they are outsiders, that people are staring at them, and that they are being judged. They face challenges that most Americans never have to face. It is nearly impossible for immigrants to be successfully integrated into today’s society. This all lies in the hands of the Americans who are too afraid of change. Who are we to tell someone that they must forget everything about where they come from in order to be successfully integrated into society? Today, it is very unlikely for immigrants to be successfully integrated into society, because Americans have this idea in their head that they are better than everyone else.
Although it is a daunting task for immigrants to be successfully integrated into society today, that doesn’t mean it always has to be. If people start standing up for what is right, then soon Americans will see that we should accept these people who are different. Instead of criticizing immigrants, people need to try to admire them, value their cultural diversity, and respect the fact that they have given up everything to come to America, the land of the free. “I stood on the corner night after night for the most obvious reasons—to be reminded of a way of life that persists regardless of context; to feel, however foolishly, that I too was attached to something” (Mengestu, 79). Immigrants often want to feel as if they are home and that they have something that they are attached to. For example, what would the world be like today if Rosa Parks didn’t stand up for what she believed was right? There’s a large possibility that we would still be segregated and living in a world that was completely divided. I once read a sign on a classroom wall that said: ‘Stand up for what is right, even if you are standing alone’. I truly believe that people need to hear this more often. People never want to stand up for what they believe in, they would rather just stand in a crowd of people who are too scared to stand up for what they know is right. It only takes one brave and determined person to stand up for what is right and make a difference in the world forever.
Oliver Wendell Holmes once said: “Where we love is home—home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts”. Home is different for everybody, and as a nation we need to do a better job of accepting that. No matter what race, culture, or political views a person has, they should always have the ability to choose where they call home. Those who are faced with the challenge of finding a new ‘home’ should not be forced to completely forget about where they came from. Instead, they should be allowed to integrate into society, still remembering what their previous ‘home’ used to be like. They should still be able to speak their language, eat the food they want, and keep their culture alive, while still learning how to integrate into society. Learning to accept that someone is different can be challenging, but it is necessary. No human, whether they are an immigrant or not, should live their entire life feeling as if they are never truly at home. As Americans, it is vital that we become more open to other people’s cultures and embrace their differences. We also must learn that change is good. Change can help us grow, reveal our strengths, offers new opportunities, and breaks up the routine that Americans are so used to. Although Americans have trouble accepting people of different races, cultures, and political views, I believe that this can change, and once it does, everyone will have a place that they can call home.
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