Why am I here?

Unlike many others my roots have not been in America for very long. On one half of my family my American roots span far back past the Great Depression while on the other side had only moved here a little less than thirty years ago. I have roots both here and in England and furthermore more people from my family come from all across the world. Through this history I believe the one idea that holds us all together is opportunity. 

My father immigrated to the U.S. in 2002 and ended up meeting my mother and got married. His job at the time was physiology research and to be eligible for more funding in the U.S. it was advantageous to become an American citizen. He has kept his dual nationality as well as myself and my little brother. He first went to America after getting his PHD to do a postdoc at CalTech in the department of biology. From there he met my mother while she was at USC and Caltech doing an MD, PHD split. From this he had myself and my little brother where we moved to Ohio before my little brother was born and I was three. We moved to Ohio for Mom’s residency and have been settled here ever since. By taking advantage of opportunity in America and finding love as well as choosing the best path for his and my mom's future America he ended up staying in America and both him and my mom have found themselves residing in Ohio to make the best of their future. 

On my mother's side  my Great Grandfather was born on a farm and hated it but he was also a lousy student. His father didn’t value education working on the farm but during WWII in his early twenties he went into the Navy. Afterwards the GI bill allowed him free college and as a result he tried college and ended up getting his PHD of all things. From this my Grandma grew up in a family that valued education and without anyone saying anything the question was what is your major and what state college are you going to and not whether or not she was going to college. My Grandma then became the first physician in her family because when she was 14 someone asked her whether she wanted to become a volunteer worker in the hospital and from there she wanted to become a doctor. At the time all she did was deliver mail and flowers and thinking it wasn’t much work she sat down with a nurse and in six weeks became a nurse's aid. When she became 16 she was hired and from then on desired to become a physician even with no other woman she even knew being a physician. This value of education instilled within my family trickled down into future generations and to my mother who when becoming a interventional radiologist at USC would meet my father and eventually lead to me and my brother.

Finally, my uncle originally is from China but moved here about 40 years ago when he was a child. His American name he chose was Kevin. The reason he chose this name was he loved the movie home alone and took the name of the main character Kevin. Living in America he met my Aunt and eventually would get married and have kids. Both of them are now doctors and have been able to become doctors by taking advantage of the education opportunities presented to them. From this my aunt and uncle now live in Thailand under a work visa for the CDC and have been able to live extremely successful lives under the opportunities provided to them by America and American institutions.

America is not the land of promise but the land of opportunity and this is truly exemplified by my families lineage. By taking advantage of opportunity when it is provided and not letting it pass is what helps drive success and it is my belief that if you work hard at all times that opportunity will eventually come and once that opportunity is available you must keep working to make the most of it. With all this America may let some become successful with chance and luck of the draw but by putting in hard effort and pushing the boundaries of what people place on you, you can increase your odds of being able to have the opportunity to better your future and your families future. The one thing that makes me proud to be an American is the fact that I can choose who I want to be based off of the opportunities that I have been given from the work my family and I have done.