My American & MENTEE Experience
by Andreea Georgescu
Life is always full of surprises. This is what everyone is telling me. I didn’t really believe until one year and a half ago when I first left my home country and came to the United States. I was living in a small town in the region called Transylvania in Romania. I never thought that I would have the chance to just see how the American Dream looks like, but now, I am living it.
In Romania, we had a good life. We weren’t really missing anything but the desire to at least visit other countries. We arrived here on my birthday, March 17 ,2017. I took it as a gift from my parents. I never knew that my birthday is actually on St. Patrick’s Day until I came here, so I had new things to discover since the very beginning. Just one day later, my brother took me to my new school. I instantly fell in love with the way it looked. I felt like I was in a movie. I started my freshman year, 9th grade, not knowing how the system works and without anyone to guide me through. My parents haven’t been in an American school so they couldn’t help with anything but support me. I was scared at the beginning because I didn’t think I was smart enough to compete with all the people in the school like I used to in Romania.
My sophomore year made me realize that I am a smart person and I can handle any challenge. So, at the end of that year, when we had to choose our classes for junior year, I took a challenge that I am so far not sad about. In Romania, our target was to get a perfect 10. I came here with the same mentality and trying to get straight A’s. Even though I tried my best, there was always a B even for a short period of time. I work hard and I know that someday I will thank myself. Even though I learn how to handle things on my own, I still feel the need to have someone guiding me throughout high school because I still have a lot to learn.
The MENTEE program made me feel like I will finally have someone who had the experience I am looking for and learn from them. At the workshop, I heard so many people with some really good stories about their life and I felt like I am one of them since the very beginning. I was honestly afraid to meet my mentor because I wanted him or her to have a good impression about me. I met her and I couldn’t be happier. She is a really nice person and I really think that we are so much alike and we could make a really good team. I also met some important people of the city of Chicago. I went home and I told my parents so proud that I met the city clerk. I knew that, with the help of this program I am going to get to know new people and also a lot of important people that might help me in my career.
I am so happy that I get to go throughout this experience with my best friends. Every single memory I have with these people is an unforgettable memory. I didn’t think I will be able to find good friends here because I never had to change the country and explore for new people. When I found my best friend, I knew there was something special about her. She is such an energetic person and I can’t remember one time when we were together and we were bored. I am helping her as much as I can even though she is one year older than me, currently a senior in high school. I tried to me a mentor for her so that she didn’t have to go through what I went through. I am supporting her when she is obviously under a lot of stress. I am a person who accepts challenges as gifts. When something feels really hard and I am struggling understanding, I am just smiling and going through it. The MENTEE experience could teach me new ways to go through all the tough moments.
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Letitia Zwickert
Founder & CEO of MENTEE
312.725.2457
www.menteechicago.org
