I moved to the United States when I was only 11 years old. I learned to read and write in English in my home country and I also understood most of what people said, but speaking or replying back to them was difficult for me. My words came out slowly, my sentences always felt unfinished, and my accent always made me feel embarrassed. Every time I opened my mouth in class, I felt like everyone was listening, not to what I was saying, but to how I was saying it. I started choosing silence over talking. It felt safer not to speak at all than to speak and be embarrassed. 

One afternoon, I noticed that the basketball my aunt bought me to play with during free time was missing from our backyard. It wasn’t just any basketball to me, it was one of the first gifts I received after moving to the United States. It was something that made me feel a little less lonely because there was a park right next to our house. During my free time I used to go to the park and practice all day. That is the only thing that made me look cooler in front of all my classmates during recess break. When  I saw it was missing I looked for it everywhere. I checked behind the bushes, near the fence, even inside the garage but it was gone. A few days later, when I walked outside of my house to go to the mosque, I saw two siblings from the neighborhood bouncing it down the street. I immediately recognized it because it had my name written with a black sharpie. 

My heart started beating really fast. I felt nervous, but I knew I had to say something. As I walked toward them, I kept practicing the sentence in my head: “That’s my basketball. My aunt bought it for me. Can I please have it back? Why did you guys take it without my permission?” In my head, I sounded confident and clear. However, when I stood in front of them and tried to speak, my English didn’t come out the way I wanted. I mixed up my words, and my voice was shaky. Instead of giving it back, they started laughing. They copied the way I talked and made fun of my accent. One of them repeated my sentence in a silly way, and the other kept laughing at me. 

My face felt hot with embarrassment and anger. My hands were shaking, but I didn’t know how to stand up for myself in English. I was thinking about the things that I could’ve said to them in my head but for some reason none of them came out of my mouth instead i was just staring at them with anger. I just stood there quietly while they walked away laughing. That silence hurt more than anything. On my way to the mosque, I kept thinking about how this wasn’t my home country and why speaking felt so hard. That day, I understood that language here wasn’t just about talking to people,  it was about confidence, respect, and being taken seriously. 

After that day, something changed in me. I didn’t want to face that kind of situation again in my life. At first, it made me quieter. I was more careful about when I spoke and what I said. At school, my ENL teacher noticed this and encouraged me to speak, even if it was just one sentence. Sometimes she stayed after class to help me practice. She was patient and never made me feel bad about my mistakes. She told me that my accent was something to be proud of because it meant I knew more than one language. Hearing that slowly started to change the way I looked at myself.

That inspired me to practice outside of school. I started practicing at home by listening to music, watching movies and TV shows, and repeating what I heard. Spending time with friends helped me the most. At first I mostly listened, but slowly I started speaking more, even when I made mistakes. Little by little, I became more confident. Looking back now, I realize that what happened with the basketball was not just about two kids laughing at me. It was also about how people sometimes judge others because of the way they speak. Many immigrants come to the United States already knowing English, but speaking it confidently can still be difficult. When people hear an accent, they sometimes assume that person is less intelligent or less capable, even though that is not true. In reality, having an accent usually means someone speaks more than one language, which takes a lot of effort and strength.

Even today, when I think about the basketball situation, it still irritates me a little. But I also tell myself that it helped shape who I am today. It taught me that language can make you feel small, but it can also make you stronger. My accent is no longer something I feel embarrassed about. Instead, it reminds me of where I came from, the challenges I faced, and how much I have grown since that day.

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