Her only memories of her birthplace are the seasons.

“I remember how it was warm all year round and the only seasons that existed were rainy and dry,” said senior Jennifer Lopes-Silva.  “I also remember that the civil war was in the late 90s.”

Lopes-Silva was born in Guinea-Bissau, Africa and lived there for a lot of her childhood with her grandparents and brother.

“I remember traveling with my aunt and visiting villages,” said Lopes-Silva recalling some of her favorite memories about her birthplace.  “We would just go and see how people lived in the villages.”

After kindergarten, Lopes-Silva moved to Italy to live with her aunt.  She moved due to the civil war occurring in her country and her house was bombed.

Being raised overseas for her and moving to live away from her parents was different, but she enjoyed the experience.

“It was fun living in Italy,” said Lopes-Silva.  “The city was small and tight knitted.  In my grade at my school, there was only 12 people in it.  It was nice because we all really got to know each other very well.”

In Italy everything was different from her birthplace and her country that was in war.  From the landscape to the people, Lopes-Silva changed her environment entirely.

“School was a lot harder there than it is anywhere else I’ve ever been,” said Lopes-Silva.  “Nearly no one had A’s.  Also the country was beautiful.  There were the alps, the beach, and lakes all in one place.”

After the sixth grade, Lopes-Silva’s mother, who received a full-ride scholarship to the University of Arkansas, finished college and Lopes-Silva moved to America.  This was another big change for Lopes-Silva; the culture and environment were once again completely different.

“Everything here is a lot bigger and the food took awhile to adjust to,” said Lopes-Silva.  “In Italy we thought Americans were awesome.  We also assumed every city here looked just like New York City and it was a big shock when I came here and there weren’t big sky scrapers everywhere.”

Earlier as a senior, Lopes-Silva was worried about her future in America.  Without being a citizen and living here only on her mother’s work permit, Lopes-Silva struggled with fact that she may not be able to stay in America.

“It’s discouraging that I may not even be eligible for scholarships since I’m not a citizen,” said Lopes- Silva.  “I’m not so motivated to try to improve on my ACT scores or to try my hardest at school anymore.  It also angers me to see some of my classmates wasting all the opportunities they have without realizing how lucky they are.”

The only thing Lopes-Silva had was hope that she would stay here.  If not, she planned on moving back to Italy.

“I’m just happy my family has been very helpful every time I had to move and I am very grateful for them,” said Lopes-Silva.

Now Lopes-Silva is provided with the opportunity to go to Baylor University in Waco Texas.   Lopes-Silva was offered $34,000 over her four years of college for tuition.  But Lopes-Silva is still struggling with the decision she has to make.

“I am not sure if I will go or not,” said Lopes-Silva.  “But I will keep hoping and praying about it and God will give me the answer.”