Aleena Zachariah

Outlandish
The Move That Changed Everything…
By Adithya Arjun
“3,451 people roaming the halls of this maze and yet not a single one I know,” thought Aleena
Zachariah, on her first day at Hebron, after moving to Texas, from India. “Great. Just great. How am I
ever going to even talk to these people? No one’s even going to understand me.”
It’s been a year and a half since Aleena moved to America and started her new life here.
“We came here because our mom’s sister filed for us and luckily we were able to actually come here,” 
Rixa Zachariah, Aleena’s older sister, said. “ You know because not all people who file to come, are able to 
come.” 
After moving, Aleena’s life as changed drastically. She had to get used to the culture here as well, 
which happened faster than she imagined.  
“Since moving to America, Aleena has changed completely,” Rixa said. “In India, in the culture, 
girls are to behave properly and stand in their place. Back home, people dress carefully because if you 
wear something that someone deems as inappropriate, the whole town finds out, and your pretty much 
labeled as boy-crazy. But here, you can wear whatever you want, and nobody says anything. My reason 
for saying this is to say that in India, Aleena was a very simple, humble girl that didn’t really do much to 
get into trouble. Back then, she used to just do a simple eyeliner, and she would always keep her hair the 
same way. But since we moved here, my oh my has she changed. She still does eyeliner, but now she 
straightens her hair, and styles it differently every day. And she dresses up really modernly now.”  
The schools here are drastically different than the schools in India. In India, in the school Aleena 
attended, there were about fifty-three students in each class, and you’re in the same class with the same 
students all eight periods, and all throughout the year. Another thing is, the students stay in the same 
classroom all day, and the teachers come to you, at the beginning of each period. 
“In America, everything is pretty much flipped,” Aleena said. “The students go to different 
teachers in different classrooms, and have different classmates. My first day at Hebron was really bad. I 
didn’t know anybody or find any friends that day so I was really lonely. Especially, since I moved here 
from India, my English wasn’t that great, so I had a hard time mingling with people.” 
In India, Aleena attended an English medium school, so she wasn’t coming to America with no 
idea of what the language was.  
“Even though I attended an English medium school, the speed that people were talking made it 
hard to understand exactly what they were saying, after I came here,” Aleena said. “Having to learn with 
the teachers speaking pretty quickly, in English, was really challenging and stressful at first because they 
were talking so fast I didn’t have time to fully comprehend what they were saying, before they started 
saying something completely different. Adjusting to learning in a full-time English environment was 
really hard, but over time, it got better.”   
The first day at a new school is almost guaranteed that it’s going to be bad for everyone. But 
Aleena’s first day at Hebron wasn’t just a new school, it was a whole different country, and language!  
”The first day was horrible,” Aleena said. “ Not only was I frustrated because I couldn’t really 
understand what the teachers were saying, I didn’t make any new friends the first day or meet 
anyone. Coming from India, I had no idea what the school would be like here, and was literally 
 in shock when I saw all the people at Hebron. It was such a drastic change from the schools in 
India, I was in awe.” 
When moving from India to America, there’s one thing that all students face, the tension 
of if all their credits will transfer over correctly.  
“My first day, I was put into the bigger campus even though I was supposed to be in 
ninth grade, because of a mixup with my credits transferring from India,” Aleena said. “I was 
placed in 10th grade. I’ve had mixed classes, 9th grade courses and 10th grade courses, over the 
past two years. This year I’m in also in 10th, but I still have some classes that 9th grades usually 
take, like Algebra 1, because my courses for both years were mixed.” 
Making friends is also a major concern, especially once you reach high school. Middle 
school is usually when people discover what friend group they belong in, but after getting to high school, 
it gets a lot harder to mingle because most people already have their cliques. Another thing is that it’s 
hard to join a friend group once you get to highschool, because people are usually opinionated and bias, 
before evening meeting you.   
“Aleena’s personality is so unique, it’s indescribable, everyone that meets her instantly likes her,” 
Amey Joseph, Aleena’s best friend at Hebron said. “She is funny and sweet, and she’s really caring. For 
instance, if someone isn’t feeling good, she will do everything she can to try and cheer them up. She’s 
also a jokester, and can make almost anyone crack up in a matter of seconds. She’s somebody that 
everybody loves, and her caring, bubbly personality shines like a diamond.”  
Even though Aleena is able to understand English a lot better, and has made some 
friends, adjusting to living in a new country is hard. Its emotional, its stressful, and it’s really painful at 
times.  
“You can say it exactly like that,” Aleena said. “I’ve adjusted, but for me, my motherland will 
always be closer to my heart.”