Once upon a time, there was a young man named Emre who lived in Turkey. Emre wanted to improve his English skills so he could move to the United States of America and have a better life. Emre’s dream was to move to America, start a business, and have his own family. His dream came true when he applied and won the Green Card Lottery and moved to the United States for a better life. 

Emre arrived at the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, full of hope for a better life. He knew he needed to find an apartment, improve his English, learn about starting a business in California, USA, and become successful. He felt fortunate he had saved up money in Turkey for his move to the United States, and he planned to use it well.

After arriving to Orange County, Emre learned that the process of moving into an apartment was very difficult and expensive. It took him nearly a week of living in a hotel room to finally find an apartment. He went to many real estate agents, and asked questions.  Emre could not understand why it was so hard to find an affordable place to live in Orange County. He wanted to have an apartment close to the airport, and close to other services like supermarkets and the mall.  He realized later that Orange County’s low crime rate and high quality of life made it a much more expensive place to live as compared to other areas in the United States of America.

Emre found a great place to live in a neighborhood called Cypress Knolls. He made many friends in the neighborhood and began learning English by watching the TV shows on the channel called Discovery. Emre learned how to speak American English, and soon became more confident with his English. The TV shows were also helping him improve his vocabulary skills. He found out about North Orange Community Education offering free online English courses and he registered for an evening online English course with Maestro Sersea.  He discovered he accelerated his English fluency much faster as a student in Maestro Sersea’s class and he did his best to learn and participate every evening of class.

Emre had started working part-time at a local restaurant called the “Red Barn”, and was happy to have found a job. He was a bartender and did his best to treat his customers with utmost respect and good service.  He became very popular and earned lots of tips. Emre began to meet more people in the neighborhood, and they were all friendly towards him. He learned that some of them even spoke Turkish!

After several years of working hard and saving lots of money as a successful bartender, Emre decided to ask his friends how to find a place to open a business in Orange County.  He learned that there are many things to learn before opening a business in America. It is not as easy as he thought.  It took a while for Emre to get started because he was still trying to understand the process of starting a business in Orange County.  Finally, after learning and asking lots of questions, Emre found the perfect place to open his business in Cypress Knolls.  He knew it was a great place for his business because it had everything he needed to be successful: a grocery store next door, a coffee house, and a restaurant across the street. He had many friends and family members in this neighborhood and they would be supportive of him.  Emre’s dream was finally coming true. He decided to open a night club called “Turkish Nights”.  

It took six months for him to open his nightclub after he rented the building.  He invested all his savings into this business. It wasn’t easy but he got his business license, alcohol beverages license, and all other documentations he needed to open the business. By the time of his opening night, he had a fully stocked bar, a great DJ playing some of the best modern Turkish music, a couple of bouncers, two bartenders, and 4 well-trained waiters. 

Emre was very proud of himself and his accomplishment. He opened his nightclub at 10pm, on a Friday night. The place was packed, and Emre had to turn people away from his door. He was extremely happy to see his friends and neighbors at his nightclub. They were all enjoying themselves and everyone was having a great time. They ordered lots of drinks, danced and had fun together. It was the most important night of his life. He felt so happy and proud. His hard work and dedication paid off. He was really enjoying his job and he was going to make lots of money in his new business. 

Emre’s success at opening his nightclub in Orange County was an amazing accomplishment. He now became a part of the American Dream for many young Turks. He knew that his nightclub business would be successful because he was creating jobs for other Turks in Orange County.  He knew this because he met a lot of Turkish friends who wanted to become DJs or bartenders in Emre’s nightclub. Some of them even got hired in Emre’s nightclub.  This made Emre very happy. He felt like he was helping other people with their dreams.

After a couple of years of working hard to make his club successful, Emre decided to buy a nice home in nearby Newport Beach, California, USA. Now that he had money in the bank and a great credit score, he was able to afford a home well over a million dollars, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. 

His friends and family members were proud of him and they were happy for him. It was great to see him enjoying the fruits of his labor. Emre’s dream came true. He was living the American Dream. However, he still wanted more. He started thinking about the future and what his next dream would be. He had some ideas about what he wanted to do with his life. He remembered what he wanted when he moved to the USA and he already had a successful business and a nice home.  It was now time for him to start a family of his own.

Emre wanted to find a Turkish wife who shared his passion for his culture and his country. He wanted a woman who wanted to get out of her parents’ house and be independent. Emre’s ideal woman wanted to be financially stable and happy.  Emre found all these qualities in his new girlfriend. Her name was Selin and she was a single mother from the Turkish countryside.  Emre and Selin got married and they both loved eachother. They had lots of kids and they lived together in their lovely home overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Emre’s American dream came true. He learned English, started a business he was passionate about, made a lot of money, started a family, and he was able to provide for his family. Emre and Selin were happy together. They traveled together with their children all over the United States and the world and had a great time together.

 English Learners, what did you think of this story? What did you like, and what did you want to be different? How would you continue this story? Add your insights in the comments section below.