At the serene night in balmy summer of 2008, I was packing up my luggage, trying to squish everything that belonged to me. Earrings to Barbie dolls, and pillow case to colossal makeup purse. My family had been all ready to go to the airport in any minute.

    That night, I was too thrilled to even fall asleep, though I have gotten quite a good nap and woke up at three a.m. at the sound of our boisterous alarm clock. My vision still blurry, I strolled down the hallway to the restroom. I reached for my minty toothpaste and huge electric toothbrush. I’ve got ahold of them, and started brushing my teeth, which finally woke me up. Then, came my mom, dad, and brother.

    I sprinted out the door of my house and landed on the sidewalk, waiting for a taxi. “Hello,” I said to the driver with the mixture of enthusiasm and anxiety; melancholy came along later when I entered the Incheon Airport. My family waited hours with passport in hand. As time passed by, my mind changed: I did not wanted to go to U.S.A. However, there was no way out for me, so I had to  aboard the plane. The airplane was very crowded. I took a seat beside my parents nervously. But, all the people seemed nice, so I set my fear free. When the dinner time came, flight attendants served us with greasy food that was not my favorite. I sweated while I dozed beside mom’s side because nightmares kept on startling me. While I was having one of my horrifying dreams, the plane gradually landed in New York.

    Back from my homeland, people always have talked about New York City being one of the important places to go to, and just by being landed on New York City Airport, I was excited. But, my joy diminished when my mom spoke up, “We are going to wait inside the airport.” I pleased my mom, but her opinion was strong as a steel. Then, it was time to get back into another plane, eat oily food, dream nightmares all over again.

    “We will be landing in about thirty minutes,” said one of the captains with monotone voice. I looked outside the window, and I was staring at a land full of farms. After about thirty minutes passed, we landed on the land what was called North Carolina. I had never even heard about this place! I was so disappointed at my parents because I thought we were going to go see Statue of Liberty, not farms and horses.

    Now couple years have passed, and my mom asks, “Would you like to move to New York?” Back then, I would say “Definitely!” But, now that I found the beauty of Charlotte and its people, I would never be able to say “Yes” to my mom’s question.