The purpose of this piece is to write a narrative and had to use five senses, which are( sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell). I included this particular piece because I feel comfort sharing my story to others and get some feedbacks or comments. This piece makes me proud of my self because when ever I look at this piece I remember my complicated moments. I learned that you can’t give up when you don’t know what’s going to happen to you in the future.
My life is full of miracles. My parents are from Burundi. In Burundi there was a war in 1972 between Tutsi and Hutu, which made my family move to the Congo. They went to Congo by a boat. They had farms where they grew all kinds of vegetables and fruits, and they had ranch for cattle. 24 years later I was born. When I turned one year old, Rwanda started a war against Congo. My family was worried that we all could lose our lives. So we had to move to Tanzania to a refugee camp, where I was raised. We had to leave everything we owned in Congo in order to survive. My life as a refugee became harder and harder for me. When it was dark we always heard birds, dogs, and many other animals yelling and we couldn’t stand them. They were lucky because it was dark other wise we could’ve killed them or scare them.
It was hard to get water, food, and fire in the refugee camp. I was hungry everyday when I was little but I got used to it as I grew up. We went through difficult times where my life became in danger and harder for anyone to handle. In the refugee camp my grandpa had more than 50 ducks each month. Ducks were our only hope, only food to eat, and they tingled my tongue. They smelled like a chicken but ducks taste differently, they were very delicious. When I catch a duck my hand felt smooth and they are hard to catch.
I ran a lot of the times alone in the forest trying to learn how to hunt, and I also played soccer with my friends. Parents at the refugee camp warned their children not to play or run when it was too hot or humid. But one day I didn’t listen, I played soccer and went hunting in the sun, which was okay for one day. Next day, I did the same thing but, my eyes started to get white, my body temperature was high and my legs were too weak to walk or run. I ended up in a hospital where there was a lot of people crying. The doctor told me that my blood countwas low. It was because of hunger, running in hot and humid weather, and because I had malaria. At that time I thought that doctors couldn’t do anything to save my life so I started to lose hope, thinking that I would die soon. Doctors wouldn’t find a blood donor, but luckily my uncle had the same blood as mine. He donated blood for my transfusion, and I also had a surgery, which I don’t remember much of and my hips hurted for few days.
In the morning, I woke up in the hospital and saw other people who were sicker than me. I was empathetic about others, and I realized that if the same thing happens to a person I Would try my best to donate my blood.
Now I feel that my life changed since I came to America. I have a better education, I have food and I can get water easily here. I would do anything to change someone else’s life.
Now when I see homeless people I feel like I have the courage to help them. Maybe one day I will have the courage to be a hero.