I am a first-born generation American.
I am well aware that I am a white, privileged citizen of middle-class America with opportunities flying towards me. However, these opportunities weren't given to me by default due to my race or wealth. Not at all. My parents fought for these opportunities. It is because of them I have my "lucky" life. I am not just an American. I am a first-born generation American to two determined Hispanic immigrants.
My father abandoned his life in Portugal at 15 years old, alone, with no plans finalized or help. Just $50 and an American Passport that he was lucky enough to obtain after my grandfather escaped Portugal's dictatorship to Cuba, and joined the US Army. His first job: washing dishes at an Iberian restaurant. His temporary home: living in the ghettos of Newark, NJ. How is he doing now? He is a successful and top-ranked real estate appraiser.
My mother on the other hand decided to take a lovely vacation to the rich nation of America, eventually deciding to stay and never returning back to her home country, without any legal documents. Yes, this did make her an illegal immigrant, with little to no opportunities in the New World. Yet, she's still here, happier than ever before.
My mother was a nanny, and only a nanny. My father jumped from restaurant to restaurant trying to find the best minimum wage for washing dishes. Neither could achieve a professional occupation since neither has ever received a college education.
Everyday my parents were pummeled by degrading comments and discrimination, simply for their lack of English fluency and their alien ethnicities. They were denied jobs and treated unfairly since they were "lazy Hispanics," as one lovely man once stated to my father. The "American Dream" was beyond their reach and at this point, inevitable to ever grasp.
But, giving up was not an answer.
My parents both learned English on their own. My father worked his butt off, even if it meant being the best dish washer ever. My mother saved her money until she could finally buy her own car and her own apartment out of Newark. My father too had been frugal with his money and eventually opened up his own restaurant. When my parents met and had me, my mother became legal and my father sold his restaurant and went to real estate school. Now, they both live an affluent and healthy life, driving designer cars and traveling to exotic places.
Being an immigrant is extremely tough and tiring. Especially in America today with Trump cutting the DACA program, which hundreds of immigrants rely on to stay here. But, don't even think for a minute it is impossible for an immigrant to succeed. IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO SUCCEED. My parents' story is just one in a million examples of how it is possible.
No one is destined to succeed or fail. Destiny is an ancient construct that people still use today to exempt themselves from their failures, shifting blame on some outside unknown source instead of facing reality. Therefore, no immigrant is destined to not achieve the "American Dream." Yes, the government may be set up to leave immigrants one step behind others. But that just means you better go to your local track and practice your high jump, because you have to jump ahead of the others in order to be more than two steps in front of them.
Destiny may not exist, but karma does. If one works diligently day in and day out, karma will take notice and reward you. Nothing is impossible if you put in the work. So for all my immigrants out there, I want you to know that you are being watched. You are being pressured. And yes, unfortunately you are being set up. But, don't take that as an excuse that you will never amount to anything. You can and you will. It is possible.
