To my immigrant parents,

Over 2 decades ago you came to America to make a better life for yourselves and your children. With only a suitcase and very little money in your hand, you did just that. There are a million things to thank you for, so here’s my just a few of my overdue “thank you's”.

Thank you for risking the comfort of your life at home to venture to America and build a new one. You said hard goodbyes to your families and got on a plane to say hello to the hope of a better life in a new country.

Thank you for giving me everything when we had nothing. Even when money was tight, you still found a way to get me the things I wanted.

Thank you for teaching me the value of happiness. These things were bought with hard earned money from long shifts and tiresome work. The money could have gone to something much more important, but it was spent to make me happy.

Thank you for teaching me perseverance. When things got tough, you kept on pushing. Even when pregnant with me, you kept going to class, kept working, and kept studying to pay the bills and get your education in hopes that one day life would be easier.

Thank you for showing me the importance of kindness and generosity. If it weren’t for people with these qualities, we may not have survived. Every little action helped. From families offering to make us a meal to neighbors who watched me while you took your exams, every person’s kindness helped each day feel a little bit easier. You taught me to be that person in someone else’s life.

Thank you for teaching me that you sometimes have to make changes to see progress. You left your semi-established lives with a large support group to move to a new, unknown state. Here, we flourished. You found stable jobs, a house, and made friends quickly. Things were turning around.

Thank you for teaching me that education is important and is a privilege. You moved to a neighborhood with a great school to give me the best education I could get. When I complained about school, you reminded me that people in other countries and situations are not as lucky as me. That many people cannot access education even when they want to. You taught me that education and knowledge give me the key to a world of opportunity and to never shut myself out from that world.

Thank you for teaching me to never let anyone belittle me because of my heritage or skin color. You worked diligently and tirelessly to make this life for us. You came this far and proved your worth. You taught me to never let someone destroy that work with a few hurtful words.

Thank you for teaching me to never accept or express stereotypes. You taught me to never let people put me in a box and tell me what I can or can’t do because of who I am. You taught me how hurtful these labels are and to never treat people in such a manner.

Thank you for teaching me to follow my dreams. You taught me that I can be anything as long as I put my mind to it.

Thank you for teaching me to stand up for what I believe in. You told me the American democracy is based on the people and that my voice matters.

Thank you for showing me how amazing America is. How we have so many rights in this country that other people can only dream of.

Thank you for loving this country and making it our home. Seeing your smiles light up once you finally got your American citizenship after many long years was an indescribable feeling.

Thank you for building this life for me. Thank you for chasing the American Dream.

Love,

Your eternally grateful American child