I moved to America at the age of 9. Though I hadn’t experienced much in my short years, my native Africa was all I’d known.

Though some might say there isn’t much for a 9-year-old to start over from, at the time it felt as though I’d gone from one world to another.

Mohamud Abdullahi

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mohamud Abdullahi of Portland is incarcerated at the Cumberland County Jail. He says that he’s “a good guy who makes some bad choices when he’s lost in the sauce.”

I had a difficult time adapting to the culture and English language at first. At times, I had to use hand gestures, which all the other kids thought was hilarious.

I didn’t know what was so funny, but sharing the laughter with my friends was all a kid could ask for.

Soon after moving to America, I moved to a neighborhood in Portland called Kennedy Park. As a child, I was transfixed by the basketball courts that were directly across from my new home.

Soccer is the sport of all sports in my native Africa, and this asphalt court was a mystery to me. I lost myself in the sport. I could also say I found myself.

Kennedy Park became my life. However, like any poverty-stricken ‘hood in America, the good didn’t come without the bad.

As I grew into a teenager, I began to struggle with alcohol. I’ve found myself now in and out of trouble during my gaps of sobriety.

I currently sit in a jail cell awaiting my turn to tackle the world again. My second chance. Well, maybe the fifth.

But soon I will be back to where my life began.

Kennedy Park. Home. And sober.