What does it really means to be successful as an immigrant? Many people today will argue that success should be measured by the amount of wealth or fame a person can have. The richer a person is, the more successful he/she will becomes to our eyes. To this day, many immigrants still relate success with the popular idea of "The American Dream", where immigrants in the 1600s were able to come to America to begin a new life, start new businesses, and successfully live happy through their hard work. However, in my opinion, success should be measure by the positive influence a person can have on other people lives. Whether a relative, a friend, or a co-worker, an immigrant could influence the life of others just by showing the importance of things …show more content…
such as learning and speaking another language or bringing new ideas and innovation learned back home to a new job or county. Famous Dr. B.J. Palmer once wrote "We never know how far reaching something we may think, say or do today will affect the lives of millions tomorrow". In 1827, Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, a great German poet said "Whoever is not acquainted with foreign languages knows nothing of his own". However, speaking a second language could present a big challenge to many people. Due to this reason, immigrants who learn to speak a second language could be seen with respect and admiration by others, especially back in their own country where relatives and friends of immigrants who speak another language might be influence by this view and decided to also learn a second language as a way to keep in touch with their relatives, communicate with new people in other places, and to learn more about their own and other cultures. Also, with the increase of globalization, many people around the world is getting more and more access to foreign news, electronic communications, and better job opportunities, especially in English (Cooke, 1987), therefore successful immigrants who have access to this opportunities might have been presented with leading roles in their communities and could be seen as part of an elite and privilege group (Cooke, 1987) which others might want to follow too. Another important facet of successful immigrants are their working abilities and capabilities. In 2002, Daniel Griswold, the director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at The Cato Institute in Washington, DC, wrote a great article describing the influence that immigrants have in the American work force and explained how to this day it is normal to find successful immigrants occupying high-skilled positions on fields such as medicine, physics, and computer science as well as lower skilled jobs such as hotels and restaurants, domestic service, construction, and light manufacturing, in some cases even jobs that Americans cannot or will fill. Employers who are looking for ways to innovate and improve their business are constantly in the hunt for successful immigrants. Competitive markets and hard economic conditions are some of the challenges that companies around the world are facing these days, hence, they understand that immigrant’s diversity could play a big role on their success. A recent article in the globe and mail newspaper described how immigrants were able to help the recovery of Canadian economy, after a mild recession, by bringing new skills to Canada, including language, cultural abilities, knowledge, and networks (Nixon & D'Alessandro, 2009). Successful immigrants had been able to overcome many obstacles and influence the mentality of many around the world who had argued that new immigrants could be a problem for their country to the point where immigrants are now look with respect and accepted as an important part of the society. Successful immigrants are great ambassadors of their own country's identity and culture.
They will enriched new societies by adding diversity and multiculturalism. Bringing different life styles, food, music, and colors, that are often appreciated by communities as a way to explore and understand how others live, taste and see things around the world. Different from Bissoondath's approach of multiculturalism on his book Selling Illusions: The cult of multiculturalism (1994), where he describes cultural events as "Disneyfied and with culture accepted as a commodity; something that could be displayed, performed, admired, bought, sold or forgotten. Representing a devaluation of culture". In my opinion is all the contrary. Culture is not an "illusion" (Bissoondath, 1994) but a transformed reality where successful immigrants will be able to transmit the best of their culture by continuously displaying their traditions and performing cultural acts that will create conscious and influence the interest on those who will like to learn more about other cultures around the world.
Many successful stories could be found these days about immigrants who through their hard work, enriched culture, and strong "can do" attitude are able to make a difference and become an integral part of our communities, also becoming a role model for new comers and future
generations. In conclusion, it is undeniable that wealth and fame could show others how good you are doing at the moment. However, what will happen if you lose all the money, or, if you are not famous anymore? Will you still be considered successful and do you think other people will like to follow you steps? Success is a state of mind, a form of thinking, and a way to act. Immigrants should always stay hungry for new opportunities, willing to learn new ideas and concepts, and be able to share their experiences with others. By constantly doing this simple things, immigrants can ensure they will have a positive influence on the life of others who are willing to follow a successful path. They need to stop dreaming "The American Dream" and start making their own dreams to come through.
Margaret Mead once said that "For many Americans, the concept of success is a source of confusion. As a people, we Americans greatly prize success. We are taught to celebrate and admire the one who gets the highest grades, the one voted most attractive or most likely to succeed. But while we often rejoice in the success of people far removed from ourselves-people who work in another profession, live in another community, or are endowed with a talent that we do not especially want for ourselves-we tend to regard the success of people close at hand, within our own small group, as a threat." Personally i believe that this is not true for many reasons. It makes the world run smoother although I wont be talking about that personally it really does.
It is true that the more people from different cultures that are in a given area, the more the cultures are diversified. However, with all realities, some claim that immigrants dilute the American culture. Indeed, they cause some changes to the culture. Nevertheless, these changes can bring a wealth of attraction and a source of beauty for the country that everyone should be proud of. It is obvious that every single immigrant in the US has his own culture and way of life. When all these are added together, they form a very rich culture. In addition, they bring various interesting aspects such as food, music, literature, etc. That makes the Americans rich in cultural knowledge. The importance of cultural diversity is that it teaches the people to understand each other’s views, interests, and ideas and helps people view the world in different ways. This would finally lead the society to work towards each other’s interest, mutual goals, and objectives. Tamar Jacoby in his article “Are Today’s Immigrants Assimilating in U.S Society, Yes,” he said that, “Those who are coming now are people who understand cultural fluidity, understand intermarriage and find that a natural, easy thing. This maintains unity and balances in the society” (411). Once this stage is reached, all the problems would be solved. Then it can be said that America has reached a true democracy, echoed by
There is no denying that immigration will always be a factor in the development of the United States. Whether it is due to religious beliefs, economic problems or even war in their native country, emigrants will always come to America with hopes of starting a new life in the “Land of the Free”. Fortunately, the people who do choose to legally migrate to America are generally motivated for success and well-educated. Even the immigrants who are not well educated are motivated to succeed, work hard and take jobs in areas where labor forces are low or jobs that a native-born American may not even consider, effectively making them a contributing member of society.
In America, there are many considerable companies created by immigrants during the height of immigration. During the early 1900s, the American Dream was in full swing and patriotism was found amongst most Americans. During this time, Americans had a sense of vivaciousness when talking about America and the economy. With the roaring 20s and significant economic growth in the 1910s, many non-natives flocked to America in search of a better life. However, as time went on and America’s economy started to adjust, the American Dream and patriotism of indigenous Americans also evolved. Bogged down with the aftermath of the Great Depression in the 1930s, second and third generation Americans fell out of love with America. Immigrants kept hope though,
For many Mexican immigrants, crossing the border into the land of freedom and the American dream is no easy task. Some immigrants come over illegally by means of hiding in cars to cross borders, using visitor visas to stay longer, marrying to become citizens, and having babies as ‘anchors’ to grant automatic citizenship. Other immigrants gain green cards and work visas and work their way into becoming US citizens legally and subsequently gaining citizenship through paperwork for their families back home. After escaping harsh living and working conditions in Mexico, immigrants come to America prepared to gain education, opportunity, and work. This American dream unfortunately does not come to pass for most.
In recent discussions, the topic of immigration and the fundamental question of what is to be done with immigration? has been circulating in many american homes today, especially the closer we get to election day. As David Cole puts it in his essay Five Myths about Immigration “But just as in the 1850’s, passion, misinformation, and shortsighted fear often substitute for reason, fairness, and human dignity in today’s immigration debates”(185). Despite misconceptions of immigrants, Cole believes that immigrants positively affect society in several ways. In addition, Cole challenges and questions the beliefs of others in his essay. Whereas, Victor Davis Hanson’s essay Our Brave New World of Immigration focuses
Immigrants have enhanced our culture by making it a combination of everyone’s diverse customs and traditions and, allowing us to enjoy different things. They bring in innovated ideas and success which benefits our economy and creates jobs. Immigration has also allowed people from different countries to seek opportunity and an escape to gain freedom and rights. America’s economy has been boosted, many different cultures have been brought together as one, and people are able to succeed and find opportunity because of
Immigrants were first welcomed in the late 1700s. European explorers like Walter Raleigh, Lord Baltimore, Roger William, William Penn, Francis Drake, John Smith, and others explored to the New World for religious purposes and industrial growth. The first European settlers that settled in the late 1700s were the Pilgrims. After the Pilgrims first settled in Virginia, the expansion of immigrants started. Then in 1860 to 1915, America was growing with its industries, technology, and education. America’s growing empire attracted many people from Europe. The factors that attracted many people to the American cities where job opportunities with higher income, better education, and factory production growth. As the population grew in the American
We don’t realize how hard it is for immigrant parents to get their children education, and we judge and hate on something we have never been through. I guess it’s true you never know someone’s pain unless you go through it. Not everyone has the same privileges as others, some have to work twice as hard to try to give their children an opportunity towards an education on the contrary some American families have it simpler. I not blaming people who have families who were born here or say it’s wrong, but many people tend to affront children of immigrant parents and feel like they have the equitableness to say they aren’t suitable to receive public education.
...ork many jobs in order to survive, in order to just get a small taste of the dream. They also face discrimination struggles. Many American do not want these immigrants to have the opportunities. The area that is it mostly seen is in education. Children with immigration background often work harder to achieve the American Dream. Despite all the obstacles, these immigrants believe in the American Dream and will find a way to achieve it.
Today, in most cases, people don’t spend very much time thinking about why the society we live in presently, is the way it is. Most people would actually be surprised about all that has happened throughout America’s history. Many factors have influenced America and it’s society today, but one of the most profound ways was the way the “Old Immigrants” and “New Immigrants” came to America in the early to mid 1800s. The “Old Immigrants were categorized as the ones who came before 1860 and the “New Immigrants” being the ones who came between 1865 and 1920. The immigrants came to the United States, not only seeking freedom, but also education. Many immigrants also wanted to practice their religion without hindrance. What happened after the immigrants
At a young age, my teachers and parents taught me to believe that I could do and accomplish anything that I set my mind to. I grew up thinking that I was unstoppable and that the only limit to my achievements was the sky. However, during my second year in high school, I began to realize that I was not as unstoppable as I had thought. I began to experience the consequences of my parent’s decision of bringing me to the United States illegally. Among those consequences were, not being able to apply for a job, obtain a driver’s license or take advantage of the dual enrollment program at my high school, simply because I did not possess a social security number. I remember thinking that all of my hard work was in vain and that I was not going to
Immigration to the united states started in the 7th century, with the first arrivals of European settlers. Once immigration arrive in a new country, they start the long and difficult process of settlement and integration. People emigrate from one country to another for variety reasons. some are forced to move, due to conflict or to escape persecution prejudices, while other may voluntarily emigrate. What makes someone American is not just blood or birth but allegiances to our founding principles and faith in the idea that anyone from anywhere can write the next chapter of our story.
The changing environments throughout the ages have caused the movement of thousands of families out of their homelands. Whether forced to make such decisions or doing so by their own desires, all immigrants have had to survive the physical and psychological challenges encountered along the way. To speak about the experiences of all these different people using the same ideas and examples would be quite inaccurate. They all, however, had to live through similar situations and deal with similar problems. Many of them succeeded and found the better future they were looking for. Many others found only hardship and experienced the destruction of their hopes and dreams. All of them were transformed.
Immigration has many impacts on economies and societies throughout the world. In Europe, Africa, and middle east, immigration serves as a booster for economies, but does not mean it is helping the society as a whole. There are many effects of migration, some good and some bad, but the main concern is how the refugees affect the society as a whole. With up sides and down sides to allowing immigration in a particular region or country, the question should be answered. How does immigration affect the society?