If you google Vietnamese boat people you might find my parents. In my internet millennial existence in America, there are few reminders of that time. The internet opened my mind to a world my parents couldn’t imagine. But the new life my family found here enables me to be a part of something bigger. That’s kinda what being a millennial is stereotypically about- and it may seem cliché. But I see service to my country as the launchpad to achieving something great in life. The people who lived in the refugee camp where I was born don’t have my story. They landed in Malaysia, or Singapore, or the Philippines, or Thailand. But we made it here.
The many choices we have being Americans is sometimes the most challenging part. People can’t seem to make up their minds. Seeing my parents decompress the emotions of their past over twenty years later, it’s no surprise that they don’t always fit in with my individual ideals. But it is the freedom to choose, openness to appreciate another idea, and ability to fulfill our own destinies that makes the greatest differences.
My father said, "We are a part of a very unique and amazing country - you can be anyone you want to be.” These were the words he gave to all six of my siblings. We were part of a small community of black families in a hard working, middle class neighborhood. This was the sustaining foundation I took with me to college where I entered the Miss Delaware Pageant in 1974, and represented the state as the first black Miss Delaware at the Miss USA Pageant in 1976. It wasn’t until I received death threats …
The dictionary was my best friend when I first came to this country. The truth is that back home there seemed to be fewer options for me. People did what their parents did, so I went to school to be a teacher. But after my first year in the field I knew it was not for me. And there were no prospects for marriage at the time so I felt stuck…
I was born to a Columbian-American mother and a Mexican father. They were young, and uneducated when they married but not too young to make sure that I had the best education available. That is something America gave my family. A free education. And with that one benefit I know my life can be anything I want it to be. Our homes in Mexico were larger than what we have here, but the things I take for granted: game systems, TV's, expensive shoes, all but make up for it. I was told that the gangs were the main reason my father's family moved to the States; looking for another option that did not involve bullets…
I try to walk away from it, but I can't turn it off - once I see an injustice, I must speak. One of the best things I've learned is to allow others to express ideas and their own opinions. To share ideas freely is one of the freedoms we enjoy here in America. I feel like I can speak to any individual faction (politically)…
There is an open secret in America. It is that our people are our greatest resource; with our entrepreneurial spirit, and dedication to freedom. Biology says we are all one race: Human. Geography doesn't change your biology - it might change the ethnicity you are born with, but it does not change your race. The Constitution is the great equalizer between people's ethnicities…
I think it is so different for me, this idea of America. I came here when I was 5. I am an American. My kids are American. But I am also a product of my home country. In my life today, my biggest problem is keeping my house clean. My husband and I have two young children. Chasing them around my home is an American dream come true. I could never have achieved the freedom to choose what I want to do in life, or where I want to live if my father had not run (through) the Romanian border to immigrate here…
When I was growing up, my mother used to drive us to affluent neighborhoods to look at mansions. And she would say, “You can live there one day.” And at the end of that day we would drive back to the ghetto and stand in line for government cheese or go hungry, and deal with the lights being out trying to do homework with no school supplies…
Tradition plays into the American fabric. Benjamin Franklin reached out to each of our founding fathers, when they were writing the documents that this nation is built on. In their quiet reflection, those men began to understand that in order for freedom to truly reign in a country, people have to let love lead through listening. I worked my way through college. That was the beginning of my American dream - an education. But years later, I had a daughter who was born with genetic disorder…
I'm not going to sugar coat it - there is discrimination. Ethnic minorities have always found it difficult to fit into the mainstream, to belong, and to feel accepted. I have painful memories growing up with prejudice and racism. But these difficulties and memories do not stop me from loving America…
I tend to see my life as a documentary, because as an American my culture has been shaped by the different movements that a hand full of people took action upon and decided to influence a cause for change. The repetitive pattern of change that can take place in America shifts thought, redirects greed, and creates situational dependencies that challenge you…
We were proud to be from where we were from. Nothing special. A working class town of blue collar families. That was my childhood. We did not expect anything to be handed to us. We expected to work. The decision of how hard or how long was up to each one of us. Up until about 6 months ago, I’m sure I’ve never worked less than four jobs for most of my life. I worked to pay for college and I’m still paying...
I think what we've done right far outweighs what we've done wrong. Sure there have been atrocities but there is no place in the world where you can go that there haven't been atrocities. I've seen that first hand growing up in the Civil Rights movement. I lived through the marches and the dogs and the water hoses. But everybody in the world hasn't tried to correct their mistakes…