I was born and raised in the Congo; my country is situated in central Africa. We have a lot of natural resources (gold, diamonds, etc.) and the political situation isn't good because we have a lot of civil war.

When I was in my country, I worked in a French company as head of accounting; this position gave me a good situation so I did all things I wanted. In 2014, I came to visit my family in the USA, it was my first time to come here.  When I went back to my country all my family decided to marry me to an old man. They said that I was over 25 old, I had a good financial situation but I didn't have a husband. They found a guy for me and thought that he was a good financial deal.

After a few months, they fixed the wedding date. I tried my best to explain to them that I couldn't agree to their decision because I didn't like the man and he had already three wives but they refused to change their minds. So, after some weeks, I was engaged to the man. I asked him if it was possible to come to the US and buy the things for our wedding, he said yes and I came here in July 2015 but since then I haven't returned to my country.

The first month, I couldn't sleep because after my decision, my family assaulted my parents and attacked me on the phone.  Now, I am so happy, because in August 2016, I saw my parents again. They came to visit us in the United States of America. I didn't marry the man but I'm sad sometimes because I lost my old life, status, friends and everything. I think one day I will recognize all the things I lost because I work hard for that. I learned in this country you could not have a good situation if you didn't learn English, so I go to the school in ESU. Maybe next year I will take the CPA classes and do my exams and try to find a good job in accounting. I hope to marry a husband that I will choose and be happy again.