Picture Prompt

Picture from http://www.genealogybranches.com/ellisisland/immigrants.html
 My family and I have arrived at Ellis Island with hopes that we will be able to find a better life.We brought our laundry, our photos of homeland Scotland so we have something to remember it by, and a wee bit of food in case we got hungry during the long trip. We are watching the ship we arrived here on sail back into the fog. I guess there's no turning back now. My uncle who lives here at New York told us that we will find lots of new and exciting opportunities here in America where my family will be staying. I am looking forwards to the opportunities that my uncle talks about, but I am still nervous about traveling so far away from home to an entirely different country. My Uncle tells me that he can get my father a job fixing ships so more people can find a new life here. He also said that I will get a better education here. I hope that they accept us here. My older sister told me that there are a group of white-hooded men who want to destroy all that is non-American. I hope that they are just a myth. America might not feel like Scotland, but at least we have a chance at finding a better life. I can't see the boat anymore. There's definitely no turning back now.
 It is my first day in America, and things aren't going very well. Dad's new job isn't very well-paying, so my family is just squeaking by. As for me, I'm having trouble adapting to my new American landscape. Instead of having green rolling hill like in Scotland, America has dense, crowded cities. Everything is so big that I feel overwhelmed. The people there aren't much better either. All of the other lads make fun of my accent, but worse yet, they make fun of my nationality! They think that just because I come from Scotland, it automatically makes me a short-tempered, bagpipe-playing golf fanatic! I don't even like golf! The worst part is that it turns out that those white-hooded men I mentioned earlier... are REAL! Everything about this new land makes me feel uncomfortable. I want to go back home. Next time I meet my uncle, I'm going to tell him that he was wrong about America. Horribly, horribly wrong.
 Dad let me visit my uncle today. Now I can tell him that everything he said about America was wrong. America is not a land of opportunity. America is not a land of freedom. It is a land of struggle and intolerance. I want to go back home. I told my uncle all these things, and he responded as so, "I understand that you are having difficulty adapting to this new land, but I want to assure you that it is perfectly normal for you to feel this way. When I first came to America, I too was unable to adapt at first, but over time I got more and more used to America. Eventually, America began to become my second homeland. As I got used to everything, I learned how to become successful here, and now, here I am, helping other people like me, or your father, discover a new life here in America and become successful themselves. Just remember that no matter how far away you are away from home, if you stay patient, remain hopeful, and always keep your homeland in your heart, you'll be able make it here just like I have. Hey, isn't your favorite show on?"
 My uncle's words were true. As time passed, America stopped seeming so foreign to me and people learned that there's more to me than just a two-dimensional stereotype. I have become completely used to America, and even though my heart will always be in Scotland, America has become kind of a second homeland to me. What my uncle has told me has served me well, and I shall pass his words along, as I now have a nephew of my own who has recently immigrated here. I wonder how he feels about America?