My father has always told me, or rather bragged to me, that he had come to America with nothing but twenty dollars in his pockets. I never took this saying literally, but I always knew that the difficulties and hardships he faced upon arriving in America were almost the same as having only twenty dollars to live off of in New York City. I am a first generation American, so while I have not experienced these difficulties first-hand, I can still understand the courage and motivation it took for my parents to make it over here and create a new life for themselves and our family.
Guangzhou, China: the place where my family is from Map Source: www.oclc.org
My paternal grandparents moved from Guangzhou, China, to New York City in 1985 when quotas and visas were allowed for the first time since the Communist regime. My grandparents, who were both accountants, saw this opportunity to get a better life and decided that it must be done. A year after they arrived, my dad came on an immediate family visa. Two years after that, my dad went home to marry my mom and helped her immigrate here as well. Despite having some relatives in San Francisco, my parents decided to start fresh and settled in New York City.
My family on vacation in 2010
All of my family members who came to America started off working in restaurants as waiters or in the garment factories scattered throughout Chinatown. After about two years of working in restaurants, my dad and my grandfather were able to rent a store in Brooklyn and set up a tailor and cleaners shop. Twenty years later, my mom and dad still work there today. We are able to afford a bigger and nicer home, as well as take time out for ourselves and go on family vacations.
My family, however, still struggle with certain aspects of integration. Despite living in America for so long and obtaining citizenship, all the adults in my family have difficulty communicating in English. Because of this language barrier, they still cannot fully integrate themselves into American culture. Yes, they talk about American politics and have an opinion on how matters should be taken care of, but they cannot express that well enough to the community around them. That is why their hopes lie in me and my sister. We are the reason why they came to America: we will be able to do what they couldn’t and achieve more than they can hope for themselves. I do not have the same immigration and integration experience that other people may have, but I still carry the same burden. I still carry the burden of utilizing the privilege given to me through my parent’s sacrifice of leaving their home country and settling here. My parents started the migration process and it is my job to make something of it.
