How I Am Facing My Fears As A Venezuelan Immigrant
My name is Chirley López. I am a 40-year-old immigrant studying in the English for Speakers of Other Languages program at Wolfson Campus.
I immigrated from San Cristóbal, Venezuela in January fleeing the political instability in my homeland and hoping to continue my career as a defense lawyer.
However, once I arrived in the United States, I felt lost and an old enemy crept into my head—fear.
Fear of loneliness: I left my mom, Nubia, and my best friends behind in Venezuela.
Did I make the right decision? What if after all the effort, time and money invested I end up failing?
Fear of culture shock: What happens if I can’t adapt to the different climate, food and customs?
Yet my greatest fear was the language barrier. I taught myself English grammar in Venezuela by watching YouTube videos, but I was afraid of being laughed at for my pronunciation.
While these fears are valid, uncertainty is what makes us grow.
Once you understand that fear is a normal emotion—a defense mechanism designed to protect us in the face of adversity—you learn to face it.
Fear was what drove me out of my country and now it was threatening me again. However, I didn’t move to this country to live with a half-packed suitcase, yearning to return to Venezuela.
It’s normal to miss your homeland, but when you live in nostalgia, you miss the opportunities of the present.
So I redirected my fear into purpose and enrolled in English classes at Miami Dade College in March.
To my surprise, MDC opened its doors to me. In the last three months, I’ve met people from different nationalities and cultures who, like me, are facing challenges, doubts and uncertainties but with a common purpose—learning to speak English.
They have become my friends and have made me feel at home. I’ve stopped feeling like an immigrant and feel happy to belong to this great ESOL program.
I’ve continued pursuing my favorite hobbies on campus, such as exercising daily at the gym and reading at the library.
Learning English has also unlocked employment opportunities for me. I now feel comfortable being interviewed in English and have applied for jobs in stores like Zara and Forever 21. They aren’t jobs in the legal system, but it’s a start.
Everyday I set new goals and plans to achieve them, believing I can be whatever I want to be.
I still have a long way to go with the English language, but I’ve begun taking my first steps toward restarting my law career. I have the opportunity to grow and I don’t plan to waste it.
