When I meet someone new, my accent always draws a lot of attention. Even if it is less obvious now, people usually find it intriguing and want to know about my entire life. So here it is, or at least a condensed version of it:

June 22nd, 2017. Despite the fact that you probably can’t remember what you did on this date because it was just an ordinary day for you, I can still clearly remember this day like it was yesterday. My entire world flipped upside down on this specific date. I was moving to the United States after being born, raised, and living in France for nearly 15 years. I can still picture myself wondering as I sat in the plane, "What does my new life have to offer 4,583 miles from home?" I had to begin learning English word by word because I didn't know a single word of it at the time. Because of this, I frequently get jokes about the way I pronounce certain words. After three flights to Savannah, Georgia, my new life on the other side of the world began, while only speaking French. The real battle began when my parents put me in an American school, where everyone found my English to be "funny" and treated me like an alien—hopefully a cool one. Even now, five years later, I still receive a number of comments on my accent, and it has become a new aspect of my life—almost like a new reality. Whenever I meet a new person, whether it be at work, in college, or on the street I routinely have to go through the normal dialogue with the "oui oui, baguette, croissant" comment. Additionally, I frequently receive absurd questions like "So, you speak Italian, right?" and "Do you guys speak French in France?" These are some good classics if I may say so myself.