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Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor said, “There are uses to adversity, and they don’t reveal themselves until tested.” In my life I have witnessed both my parents go through adversities just to make sure I lived a good life. My parents were courageous enough to chase the American Dream, since they knew their children would have greater opportunities in this country. This choice did not come easy, my mom had to sacrifice her career to come here, something she worked hard to achieve. Both my parents gave up the comfort of their home and their family to come to a strange land. When they arrived they began looking for work, my mom exchanged a desk job for a cleaning job. My dad took construction,landscaping jobs to bring food to our table. …show more content…
The support I have always had has been from my parents, but the one person that has really pushed me has been my mom. In the moments that I felt really lost and in doubt she was there to inspire me to get up again, and keep going. At school, I had Ms.K go out of her way just to make sure I received the resources that I needed to apply to colleges. I also had the support of Ms.Wagner who informed me of things and always made sure I knew a different perspective on things. Ms. Muirhead on the other hand fed my curiosity and made sure I had answers to my questions. Mr.Stolte gave me the opportunity of participating in “We The People” and this experience allowed me to define what I wanted to become. Although, Mr.Stolte and I disagreed on various subjects throughout this experience, I never lost the chance of being challenged and learning from it. My friends also believed in me and supported me, like my friend Carlos Navarro, who I am proud to recognize as a hard working person. He realized his true potential and put that into effect and is graduating today as well. His dedication motivated me to do the same. I am really grateful towards all the people that helped me get here and I hope I keep making you
Adversity is defined by the Merriam-Webster's dictionary as, “A state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune.” The Supreme Justice Sonia Sotomayor has overcome adversity many times in her life. One of the first adversities she encountered was at the age of 7 when Sotomayor was diagnosed with diabetes. She soon realized that “She would not depend on the adults in her life to keep her alive. Instead she gave herself her own insulin shots”(Barnes). This shows that Sonia had little support from the adults around her. It also shows that Sonia knew that depending on others would only get you so far. Also Sotomayor overcame the limits of her cultural, social, and class background. A quote
Throughout the course of my life, I have always encountered individuals wanting to better their economic situation especially those within my community. Those who come from impoverished communities in other countries risk their lives and lifetime savings to come to the United States hoping that one day they will regain everything that they lost. Their only motivation to come to this country is to be able to provide their family with basic necessities and in order to do this, they must work two or more jobs that pay at minimum wage and are taken for granted. However, many individuals do not see this side of the story and categorize immigrants as unambitious people. In order to be completely aware of what immigrants truly go through and how they succeed in life, one must be willing to place themselves in their shoes and hear his/her story. We must acknowledge that the hands of these people work in back breaking jobs in order to sustain their families. While some Americans may be against immigrants arriving to the United States in search of a better life and the American Dream, in The Madonnas of Echo Park, Brando Skyhorse further reveals that immigrants are exploited as cheap labor, and although they contribute greatly to the everyday function of American industry, they are quite invisible.
Because my family sacrificed everything and came to America, I was able to be married and have children relatively easily. My husband has never had to leave us for a long period of time, or move us across the country. We were born into America, living a life full of luxuries that we do not even realize are luxuries, all because my ancestors moved here long ago. My children do not have to worry about what the next day holds, or whether they will be able to eat at dinner time. They get to go to college at a young age without any terrible sacrifices. My oldest daughter will have her associate’s degree right out of high school, and will become a doctor, something my ancestors never had the chance to do. It is crazy to think that my ancestor’s barley got the opportunity to go to school, and yet my youngest daughter is the youngest person to attend college here in Ashland. I am the first one in my family line to go to college, and am blessed with the opportunity to choose my occupation, something my ancestors didn’t get to do. This is the same for Junot, who was able to choose his own occupation here in America. Unfortunately Junot’s mother “never did become a nurse…Immigration got in the way of that horizon—once in the United States, my mother never could master English, no matter how hard she tried, and my God, did she try.”(Diaz 1). But because she wanted so much more for her son, she strongly encouraged
America is a land filled with immigrants coming from different corners of the worlds, all in hopes of finding a better life in the country. However, No one had an easy transition from his or her home country to this foreign land. Not every race thrived the same way—some were luckier than others, while some have faced enormous obstacles in settling down and being part of the American society. Many people have suffered
Wallechinsky demonstrates the many hardships that families and individuals go through. “Almost two-thirds say they live from paycheck to paycheck, and 47% say that no matter how hard they work, they cannot get
My mother is an outspoken woman. In her tiny appearance lies an extraordinary fortitude story. Bravery is a virtue that not a lot of people possess, but my mother has proven her courageousness. Before my mother gave birth to me, she lived in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Her family lived in poverty, and every bit of food was valued and cherished at their table. It’s hard to tell whether my mother’s decision to migrate to the United States was an act of courage or impatience. She certainly had no bright future at home, her parents could barely afford used clothes from the town’s thrift shop. She certainly wanted to find a way to turn her life around and provide the needs for her family, so she decided to come to “The land of opportunities.”
During the course of America's lifetime, million upon millions of people left their homes and families in other countries and traveled to America in the hope of securing a better life -- the American Dream. What they often found was an unwillingness on the part of those already established in America to share society's benefits with them. For many segments of our American society, people substituted a reliance on family, or friends, or even faith alone, to secure these benefits for themselves and their children that was denied them by those possessing economic and political power.
“ Ironically I faced discrimination from other immigrants rather than Americans themselves”, stated Valentina Luma when she was been interviewed. This quote was the most relatable to my experience of being an immigrant to United States of America compares to hers. Valentina Luma was the age of nine when her and her family immigrated from Dominican Republic to the United States. Luma’s journey to the United States wasn’t arduous physically rather mentally where the process to get accepted took almost a decade, she admits to understand why some immigrants would rather come to America illegally than wait almost a decade to come. Some of the positive
...immigrants made sacrifices. Not only were the parents affected but children were also affected. By looking at situations from a Immigrants point of view and how they express things the way they do, you will be able to see that they are more than grateful for the opportunities given to them.
When most people think about immigration to the United States, they think of the U.S. as being the “land of opportunity,” where they will be able to make all of their dreams come true. For some people, immigration made their lives richer and more fulfilled. This however, was not always the case. A place that is supposed to be a “Golden Land” (Marcus 116) did not always welcome people with open arms. Even after people became legal citizens of the United States, often times the natural born Americans did not treat the immigrants as equals but rather as outsiders who were beneath them in some way. In some situations, people’s lives were made worse by coming to the “land of opportunity.” Often times people were living no better than they were in their own countries not able to make ends meet, just to live in the United States. Virtually all immigrants during the 1900’s had the same dream, to become successful and provide for their families as citizens of the United States, but they soon found out that the life in their new country was not going to be easy.
Many Immigrant families have obstacles/challenges to confront as soon as they step into this Country. Not only the Illegal parent’s with the
As an immigrant, my father worked multiple hours, starting his morning in the field work picking fruits, vegetables, etc. and evening at a restaurant. The little money collected, with time, my father was able to pay for the loaned money he used for a ?Coyote? that transported him from the border to a near city with family and to cross my mother. Both parents working morning and evening jobs were granted a residency card from their field job because of their extended years of working with the company. The residency card is to be renewed every ten years and as a resident, they are to obey the laws and stay out of trouble. Therefore, allowing my parents to have better opportunities such as; minimum wage jobs, Driver?s License and renting their own home. Although my mother had the opportunity to minimize her working hours and stay home with her children she continued to work and pay a nanny because she learned to work at a very young age and has been self- sufficient since then. The Immigration and Nationality Act is also known as the Hart-Cellar Act and other immigration groups have shaped my families past by being a diverse community. The different languages used in the U.S. is an advantage for those who are bilingual and there is a high demand for bilingual speakers. Also, the work and wage opportunities there are now available for those with their
Since a long time ago immigrant families have been coming to the U.S. to seek a better life. The idea of the American Dream becomes shattered once they start dealing with all the obstacles to get to the United States from South or Central America. People start facing discrimination and are taken advantage of. Since their journey starts, immigrants face discrimination from everywhere they go; the people who help them cross over to the U.S. charge high amounts of money to help them come over. Once they get to the United States immigrants continue in the same pattern of being abused, and taken advantage of. It is important to mention that if people are moving from their own country of origin it must be because the conditions they are living in are worse than the ones they are willing to live in, by moving. People that decide to make the move and explore new ways of living are often faced with discrimination, wage-theft and poor health conditions. “Wage theft is particularly prevalent among immigrant workers, and ―work-related exploitation appears to be growing along with the country’s immigrant population.” (James Pinkerton,
Throughout my life I have always had one person who has stuck with me through thick and thin, my mother, Genoveva. My mother’s devotion was to her two daughters, she always prayed that my sister and I would have a better life then what she had and pushed through every obstacle for us. She is from Mexico, Puebla and is a very loud, assertive woman. She always believed in herself and whenever she put her mind to it, she always got the job done. She came to America in 1982 when she was just 16. Even though her journey was made from a rash decision, having to be forced to do something illegal and having to get accustomed to life in America she is just glad that she can now have a happy life with her family.
As I grew up throughout my childhood I accepted the word “no” from my parents with blatant frustration. I grew up in a well off home and never had to worry about where I will spend the night or if I will be able to eat that night, I used to never be as thankful as I should have for those reasons. Thoughts constantly ran rampant through my head of, “Mommy and daddy have so much money why can’t I have this!” I never grasped the fact of if my parents could provide me with a certain luxury that I did not need but wanted, why they did not. As a child I saw all the kids around me with many luxuries I desired but could not have as my parents refused, although I was completely unaware of their own financial status as a kid I could only look at everyone