The American continent has attracted human attention since the time of its discovering. Even at that time, people came to The New World in the pursuit of better living. From the very beginning, this country was a refuge for foreign people, who wanted to achieve better way of life. People from all parts of the world flocked to this country in search of money, jobs and freedom.
The United States of America has always been a country of dreams. Most of the immigrants, who disembarked at Ellis Island, which might be considered the eve of the American Eldorado, were full of dreams about their future. People dreamt about new free life, full of happiness, hope, and had a fierce will to achieve success. Today, nearly every American resident considers himself to be an immigrant, as his/her ancestors came from Ireland, Poland or Italy. The first citizens of this country experienced various hardships, poverty, toil and oppression in their native countries. The main wish of those people was starting a new life in the new country with new opportunities. I deliberately emphasize the adjective “new”. The United States was a place, where people started their lives from the beginning.
It should be also stated that the U.S. was not only the country of dreams, but a place of self-made man. Like every Napoleonic soldier, who wore the marshal’s baton in his bag, every American immigrant expected to achieve success in this country.
When I was a kid, and lived in the Republic of Georgia, the United States seemed to be the Wonderland or the Land of Oz. My brain painted the pictures of people, who always smile, and live happily together. I dreamt about the Statue of Liberty, because I perceived it as symbol of freedom and the end to oppression. The Lady Liberty’s torch represented the glimpse of hope. It reminded me that there was the light at the end of the tunnel. One may have experienced the feeling, when you live in complete darkness. I use the word “darkness” metaphorically, it symbolizes my life in Georgia. There, people did not have the right to speak what they wanted, to live the life the way they want, and did not have opportunities to make their life better. So, when you live in complete darkness, the light of the torch might seem to be the light of the angel that takes you to the U.S. paradise. It should be mentioned that the U.S. became a paradise for millions of people, as there they could freely express their viewpoints, develop their personalities, study, and work. Those people, who did not have the right for those things, consider them to be the God’s gifts. When I was a boy, I dreamt that one day I would go to the United States of America. I imagined how the Statue of liberty would greet me. Her torch would enlighten my life, and would give me the chance to live, and not to survive.
At first sight, …