I had left my home country of Germany to find wealth and success in America. In my country decent paying jobs were hard to come by, so I hoped the tales of riches and fortune I've been told about the country held. one of my brothers had already been sent to America so he is who I went to go to when I arrived on Ellis Island. to make it through Customs I needed to prove I had a family member in the United States and had money to travel and meet my brother. I remember the first thing I saw was the tall and beautiful Lady liberty statue.

after a long and difficult boat ride I had finally arrived on Ellis Island. The people from my boat were sorted into many different confusing lines while their luggage was stripped from them. Once we made it to the front of the line we were questioned by a man in a uniform. he had spoken English which I did not understand very well but I still knew what to say. I told him I was going to live with my brother in Cincinnati Ohio and he sent me on my way. to make it to Cincinnati I would have to go by train which means I would have to navigate through the city which was horribly confusing but I had managed to find and board the correct train.

After another long journey I had finally reached my destination, Cincinnati Ohio. my brother had met me at the train station and showed me to where we would live. it was a small building in which we had to share rooms with many other German families and the rent was steep but it was better than nothing. my brother had even helped me get a job in a nail factory in which I make 13 cents an hour. it will be a difficult road but with enough time I will be able to bring the rest of my family to America.

Something terrible had happened to me. i was multiple hours deep into my shift and exhausted when I had made a mistake and injured my hand. due to the injury I was fired and kicked to the curb. In order to stay in the house and treat my hand my brother and I had to dip into the fund we had to move our family to America, but even taking our saving we didn't have much time before I was forced to work again even in my injured condition. the working world was very harsh and I was very lucky to only have hurt my hand, any more set backs like this and we might lose our home and any progress we would have made in america.

After my hand had healed I was able to get another job moving cargo between the local ships at the docks. it is hard, exhausting work and almost nobody at the docks speaks German, but a job is a job. all of my American co-workers are very rude to me and the other immigrants and show no signs of stopping, not only that but I get paid much less than they do purely based on my immigrant status. With decent work between me and my brother will be able to bring my all of my family within only a few years. there is a long hard road ahead but with enough vigor I will be able to succed