Unlike in Taiwan where I was rarely punished, my aunt punished me severely for my wrongdoings, and as a result, I was very afraid of her. I would be too scared to even approach her. My room became my sanctuary, and I stayed in there every possible chance. My mind was in a state of shock, and I started becoming depressed with the sudden change in my life. I did not understand why my aunt had to be so "mean," and soon I began feeling that my life was pointless.
In addition, due to my inability to speak English, I made no friends and had no one to talk to. School in America was completely different from school in Taiwan. I had loved kindergarten in Taiwan, but dreaded school in America. School was the place where I could not understand what the teachers were saying. School was the place where the kids made fun of me for my accent and made racial slurs at me. I had no friends, no confidence, no self-esteem, and a lot of stress. With no one to comfort me, I was very lonely and lost in this new world. .
During this period of my childhood, I felt everything was over. My mental health state was negative, and my physical health reflected it. I was often sick and stayed home from school, slept a lot, and had no appetite. I felt that there was no one to talk to and nobody to be there for me. My health was very bad. However, my two cousins that I lived with started to talk to me more once they got to know me. Soon, our relationships turned from non-existent to friends. They were my first buddies and with their help and support, my health and attitude towards life started going in the right direction. .
Slowly, I began to change with their support. I realized that maybe it was my attitude that I should change, and thus I set out to accomplish that. I wanted to be happy, and I realized if I just behaved like how my aunt wanted and worked hard in school, then I would not hear her scold me all the time.
