I am a first-generation American citizen in my family. My status as such is a monumental achievement in my family history, considering that my ancestors and my parents were farmers. Even to this day, I have cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents that still own and operate farms. However, like many other Filipino families, my parents and many of my aunts and uncles have migrated to the United States.
My parents got married on October 10th, 1989, in San Agustin Church, Manila, Philippines; it was a joyous occasion but a bittersweet month for my parents. Shortly after their marriage, my mother moved to New York. My mom was able to come to the United States on a working visa; she was hired and sponsored by Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, New York. The hospital even paid for her transportation to the United States, but in order to continue working at Blythedale, she needed to pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), which is the board examination for licensed nurses. She passed her test, and became a licensed registered nurse in the United States of America. Two years later, my mom went back to the Philippines to visit her husband and her family. She stayed in the Philippines for six weeks and when returned to the United States, she discovered that she was pregnant.
My father moved to New York to live with my mom four months before my brother was born, and in the same month, my parents moved into an apartment in a three-family home. He was granted a dependent visa and quickly found work at a plant as an electrical engineer after his arrival. In June of 1992, my parents applied for and were awarded their green cards. Finally, on July 9th, 1992, my mother gave birth to my brother, Neal and one year later, on August 2nd, 1993, my mother gave birth to me. We moved into our current home in 1996, and to this day, my mom is still working at Blythedale Children’s Hospital.
Fortunately, my mother did not encounter serious obstacles in her migration to the United States. In fact, my mother had a smooth transition to her new life in the United States thanks to the generosity of Blythedale Children’s Hospital. The hospital gave my mother a job, housing, and the opportunity to fulfill her American dream. In addition to this, the salary that she received at Blythedale was far more than that of any hospital in the Philippines. My mother periodically sent money back to her family in the Philippines after she began working at the hospital. Even now, she still sends money to her parents and every other year, we send our relatives a balikbayan box, which is large cardboard box that contains hand-me-down clothing, candies, toiletries, food and any other items that our relatives request.
The greatest hardship that my mother encountered was leaving her husband and leaving her family behind. Despite getting married in the same month, my mother cried every night before she left. My mother was also very young when she came to the United States; she was only 22 years old.
Another hardship that she faced was the change in culture. At times, the culture shock for her was overwhelming; she found it hard to adjust to American cuisine and she especially struggled with adjusting to American accents. Even though my mother learned how to speak English in the Philippines, it was still difficult for her to understand her coworkers.
The most important lesson that my mom wants me to learn from her story is that many things can be achieved if you have a college degree. Her greatest wish for my brother and me is to graduate from college and to find a steady job. She has taught me that having these two achievements will set me up for anything that I want to do in my life and I hope to live up to and beyond her expectations.
| Previous | Back to Top | Next |
