Osayed
My name is Osayed and I come from a Syrian background. Growing up I was surrounded by violence and war and felt like a bomb could drop on me and my family any second. For the last couple of months in Syria, we kept on moving from house to house as our building got bombed the night we were sleeping at our grandparents’ house. After our house was bombed we had to move to a remote village and live in a small 2-bedroom house with multiple families living, you might think that living in such conditions was the hardest part, however getting food was nearly impossible as prices were skyrocketing and we couldn't afford a single piece of bread. Luckily, we were able to flee the beloved but destroyed country of Syria on February 15, 2013, to start this long expedition.
When we landed in Egypt we had yet to determine where we would end up in the span of 5 years. I spent my time in Egypt meeting new people trying to be at the top of my school for the time that I was in it and just simply trying to live my childhood like any other kid. My parents tried to make me and my siblings live the best childhood but with the lack of money and not being able to be financially stable, it was tough. I kept on working hard in and outside of school. This hard work would show to pay off later on.
In the meantime, I had seen a video on how computers work and had been fascinated by them. The next year we got a phone call from the I.O.M asking us if we wanted to have an opportunity to immigrate to the United States Of America. Ever since we got that phone call I remember spending hours thinking about how our life would be In a whole other country that speaks a different language. It took 3 and a half years to get that phone call back to confirm our flight date but when it came I forgot about all the hard times we went through. The joy could not be described in words as it's a feeling that can't and will never be replicated. On the final day, I went and made my final goodbyes to all my friends and all the memories I made in Egypt, and set off to the airport. Once I first set foot in Florida I had a feeling that I would be able to achieve my dream. My first day of school was probably the most challenging part, going to a school where you don't know anyone and don't even speak the same language they speak gave me a lot of anxiety. My fear of getting picked on and bullied unfortunately became a reality as the kids at my school would always try and make fights with me and they found it funny because I wouldn't defend myself.
After 1 year of living in Florida, we had to move out as there was a hurricane that would be way too dangerous for us. So we moved to Georgia where I got my first glimpse of programming in school. My time in Georgia was probably the best because I had teachers who were always there for me and were always supportive. Due to these teachers, I was able to quickly learn the English language and further expand my knowledge. During 6th and 7th grade, I was awarded many achievements such as 1 of 3 students having an A in all of their classes, the best presentation of the year, and many others. I wouldn't be able to fulfill my dream of being able to code on my laptop until we moved to Ontario, Oregon which is a small city on the border between Oregon and Idaho. Over there I took coding seriously as I made my first website which was a website containing prayers and it would give you a new one every day. I continued on this path learning more and trying to do as much as possible. Now I live in San Diego and I could not be happier with how much I’ve experienced and all the things I learned on this journey.