Obstacles To Overcome The Immigrant Status Of My Parents

There were three lessons that my immigrant parents ingrained in their first-generation children: Work hard, never give up, and most importantly, give back. Among other life lessons they taught us, these three were the basis for everything. It would be the basis that would and will define me as a person.

As a child I grew up in a community of neighbors that had just as much as I did, hardships and challenges where unknown to me. It was in college in my Chicano/a studies courses that allowed me to view my life challenges. When asked to describe how I overcame life hardships, I can only think of the life lessons my father have instilled in me. Therefore, my socio – economic challenges are overcome daily by learning how to manage money, at an early age I was thought to save my money. Education challenges where coping with a learning disability without resources, my private tutor was my oldest sister. A family challenge was coping with the passing of my mother in

As a child of immigrant parents, one person I will undoubtedly look up to is my dad.I admire him more than anything. He’s the one who made all these sacrifices just so his kids wouldn’t have to go through the hardships he did. He grew up in a third world country. Growing up, I rarely saw him because he was so busy working and trying to find superlative possible circumstances so his own children could flourish and aim high. He was going to have the optimal for his kids and nothing less. I never had a good relationship with my mom because of how high her standards were. She was never content with what my dad gave her or what I did for her. She had a tendency to say rude things and seemed unappreciative which is why I leaned towards my dad for

From the time I was born until the age of twelve, my family struggled with the basic necessities of life. My father worked endless hours in a factory, and yet somehow came home with a smile on his face. As a young kid, I never knew we were struggling. The thought had never occurred to me. As I got older I started to realize that my single father was working his life away to care and provide for his two little girls. He completely put aside his well-being because as long as his girls were cared for, nothing else mattered. Life was never easy, but as a young adult today, I have come to accept that my background has been a prerequisite for greatness, for it is our backgrounds that define who we are. The way we are raised, the way we are taught to believe, and the way we are taught to act, make us who we are today.

There are many things that can hold people back from goals that they are determined to accomplish. Despite these hardships and dilemmas that we face, if we have fight in us and the correct work ethic we are bound to succeed. I personally have faced my share of obstacles in my life and have been through plenty of hardships. However, I always overcome them in one way or another. For example, when I first walked the halls of Harlingen High School I entered as a shy but ambitions freshman with a lot of friends and unfortunately a lot of enemies. I was always put down due to play playing ability in band. I constantly tried to get better and better and that’s when freshman region auditions came along. I was excited to be able to actually compete

Explain any difficulties or obstacles you’ve overcome (immigrating to the US, learning the English language, being the first family member to attend college, etc.)

For many immigrants, America is the land of opportunity. Most immigrants travel to the United States because they want to be able to have better lives but also to give their children more opportunities. They come for the American dream. Parents want to give their children an education and a better chance of having a successful life. For the parents of Lorenzo, Cristian, Oscar, and Luis, that was all they wanted. Oscar Vazquez, Cristian Arcega, Lorenzo Santillan, and Luis Aranda went to high school near the desert where most of the students were undocumented and were not expected to go to college. The team of the Carl Hayden robotics club had to work harder to be successful because their illegal status limited them to what they could do.

They want more for their children but they know that the “more” is hard to obtain. They are illegal immigrants that are looking for a better way of life. They wish to make a better living and wish for the need of not needing to work so hard each day. They wish for their children to have the education that will take them farther in life. Nevertheless, with the resigned situation of their life they at times feel as if there is no hope for the dreams to come true. These people know that the life that they are subjected to will not be changing any time soon as they travel from place to place in search of work.

In the past five years, I have overcome many obstacles. Thankfully those struggles made me who I am today, and while I still have many improvements to make, I am content with the direction my life is going. With a combination of my experiences, my education,

When you are not given much chooses a circumstance can be a huge obstacle in your life. My obstacle was Spanish. I am Mexican but I was raised in an English speaking home where my parents always new Spanish from early ages, but me, I only knew few words up until a few years ago. My mom was born in Mexico and Spanish was her first language while my father born here was raised in a Spanish speaking home his whole life. Everyone around me on my mother’s side minus a few cousins spoke Spanish: grandparents, uncles, and aunts. After years of ignorance I felt it was time to finally learn Spanish so I could effectively communicate with my family. Plus living in the borderland, knowing Spanish is a huge benefit. At first I tried the public school system

Being the only person you can really lean on and talk to can be tough, but learning to have a valuable connection with yourself is beneficial. Coming from immigrant parents, with continuous relationship problems, and being an only child, I often found myself feeling the problem of every issue, the middle of every argument, and just plain alone. My childhood was amazing, always the center of attention. As I started growing older, the attention I got from my parents diminished as they were so focused on their work and disputing with one another. My parents have been separated maybe twice in their life, not divorced because my mother could not get legally married because of the amount of debt she required in her past life. She was never supposed to become pregnant with me. She was supposed to abort me, but my dad convinced her not to. That is why ever since then, I think these years of arguing between my mother and father were all because of me. I was the burden on their relationship.

I have confronted numerous challenges throughout my life. I was born into a poor family in a little country, Nepal. I moved to the United States when I was only 10 years old, and I had no knowledge of English. Transformation from Nepal to United States was one of the hardest, but the most beneficial, things in my life. My family moved to the United States so my siblings and I could get a better education and have a better life. It was hard to move to a new country specially since I could not speak or understand much English.

Our future is made by all the obstacles we overcome throughout our lifetime.Some people may have had more obstacles to overcome than others yet they all have their mind set on pursuing their own American Dream. The American Dream may range from having the opportunity to expand their education to owning their own home. This dream is in the minds of both Americans and illegal immigrants. I interviewed three people: my aunt, my uncle, and a close friend. All three of them are immigrants from Mexico and they came to the United States at different times in their lives. From this interview, I clarified that all three of the people interviewed just wanted a better life for both themselves and their families, so that's why they came to America in hope of finding the American Dream.

Still, people are willing to risk their lives’ to enter the United States. Some may succeed, while some will be unsuccessful and get deported back to their own country. They sacrifice everything in order to provide a sense of hope for their family. This is what the American Dream represents; being able to prosper, raise a family, and live the means of a good life. Illegal immigrants long for a day where their offspring will develop into a successful individual, rather than growing up in an environment of poverty and despair. Imagine your child working in the fields of Mexico only earning 50 to 60 pesos a day ($5-$6). He/she is planting crops under the blazing sun getting blisters on their feet. The heat consumes the dream and hopes they aspire. People experience many difficulties while seeing more than they desire. Although immigrants approach the U.S. longing for wealth, in reality wages are less than the average salary of Americans. Even so, immigrants gain strength to continue through the encouragement of their family.

Throughout my educational experience, I have endured countless hardships that made progress difficult at times. Although it was a struggle through my strong dedication to education, I have also earned a list of achievements for my hard work. These experiences from, failing two of my English classes, to excelling tremendously in mathematics, have molded me into the type of student I am today. I am a student with a growth mindset and, an optimistic outlook on education and, the bright future ahead. I now understand the impact that a positive mindset can have on your future. I am definitely proud of the student I have become. I feel like my journey is unique, but is also very relatable.