I’m Douaa and I come from Syria. In 2011, a big war began in my country and I felt very scared. All the people had to leave their homes because if they stayed, their houses would have been destroyed by the war and they would have been injured.
A month later, I left with my family to travel to a country called Lebanon. We stayed there for two long years, life was hard there, so my family decided to come to the UK.
We arrived in Derby in the winter. It was dark and raining when I arrived, the buildings and the people were different from my own country. I felt like it would be problematic because everything was different: the people, the language, and the weather. I felt very scared because I did not have friends and I did not know anybody here. However, I decided not to give up, but to learn the English language and get used to the differences and adapt myself.
I do not feel scared anymore because I have lots of friends. Now I can speak English, I know it is not perfect and I still need to improve, but I can speak with friends and with other people. I feel better now, I feel more independent and know that I have a bright future ahead of me.