Photo Submitted Laila Cejvan

Lalia Cejvan stands in Dubai before she leaves for America in 2022. “ We made the decision to move her so we can be closer to family that we don’t usually talk to,” Cejvan (12) said. She has made many new friends since she came to America and is graduating this year.

Some people were born in America and stay in America, some were born in a different country and stay there. For Laila Cejvan (12) she has gotten the experience of both from moving to America from Dubai.

“My family and I were talking about how I’m going to college soon and we decided that the best decision for that would be to go to America,” Cejvan said.”That’s where all the good colleges are, we also are not close to family in Dubai so it’s was hard to communicate with them.”

Moving to a different country in the middle of high school but having a good community makes that transition smoother.

“ [We moved to St.Louis because of the] community of Bosnians and we have a lot of family here compared to other states,” Cejvan said. “My parents wanted me and my brother to grow up around people who are like us so we aren’t strained away from our culture.”

Not only is getting to know a different community difficult, so is moving to a school where everyone already knows each other. 

“As I moved here I was kind of already excited to leave but now I am good. I’ve met a lot of people who made me change my mind about that and that I knew I could still stay friends with,” Cejvan said.

Getting used to a different school can be rough for some people especially when hearing stereotypes. But once you experience it yourself it gives you a different perspective. 

“Obviously when you hear about American high school you only hear about bad things but it isn’t as bad as I thought it was gonna be,” Cejvan said. “I think because it  is something new to me, I don’t hate it as much as someone who has been here their whole life.”

Overall, having the opportunity to experience different countries and learn a new perspective, can lead to more opportunities in the future. 

“I’m hoping to go to college and succeed and figure out what I want to do with my life and survive,” Cejvan said.