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In front of my house there was a tree that flourished beautifully. “It comes from a healthy seed,” my father told me. “With tenacity and strength, the weak and tiny seed has grown into an exuberant tree.” Listening to my father, I began to understand the meaning behind the seed. However, I left that tree in 1998. A mixed feeling of fear and worry about the unknown haunted me when my parents decided to move to Los Angeles from China. July 19 was a day I will never forget. After saying farewell to friends and relatives, my parents and I started our new lives in LA. In China, the age for entering first grade is seven, a year older than that in the U.S. This is the reason that I jumped up a grade when I went to school here. The gap between grade levels and the huge disparity between the educational systems were roadblocks on my way to the house of knowledge. Having learned only basic English grammar and listening skills for one year in China, I began my education in LA as an eighth grader. In the first day of school, my cheeks were as red as ripe apple