Personal Narrative: My Parent's American Dream

Decent Essays
My parent’s American Dream, similar to many other immigrants of the 1990s, was to seek a better life and to get access to more job opportunities. When I interview my dad about his difficult decision of leaving everything behind and move to a foreign country, he told me that during that time, China had a horrible economy and he just simply did not see a future in that kind of environment. When he heard about San Francisco, a land of gold and opportunities, he decided to take a risk and challenge the unknown, all for the chances of having a better future. When he finally stepped onto the rich soil of America, he dreamed about the possibilities of having a family, a better environment for his children, and most importantly about the opportunities

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Kyle LeDuff Mrs. McKay English Project 3 October 2016 1980’s Parent Interview I interviewed my Dad about the American Dream, his views on this topic, and his life. We started with memories from his childhood and continued through to his present day life. I asked him many questions about what influenced him as he was starting out on his own. I learned many interesting things about his life and his view of the American Dream.…

    • 1525 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My parents came to America through school because where there from colleges are not so great. My parents are from a small place in Africa called Rwanda, it’s a pretty small country and not a lot of people know about it. Well my parents didn’t know each other back in Rwanda but met in America. They came here because they were given the option to come to America paid by the government to take studies and come back. My parents obviously didn’t do that but they got that privilege because they did good in school and over there school shapes your life more than it does here.…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It was in the late 1980’s that the first of my family immigrated to America. Like most immigrants, they came to this country in search of a better life than the one they left behind. I admire my parents for having the courage to come to this country and start over from zero. For most of their lives, my parents worked in the fields picking fruit. It is a physically demanding job that pays very little.…

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    They say the goal in life is to live the “American Dream” and I would say I am living it head first. It all started when the time in my life came to pick an Univeristy to attend, and boy am I ecstatic with my decision to attend West Virginia University. WVU opened so many doors for me; however, if it was not for my family, I would not be where I am today. I was very content with going to my local University and living at home because that was comfortable to me, but my family encourged me to find a new start.…

    • 418 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Body crouched, holding on to a miniature blanket are the memories that cannot be eased from my head. Low temperature is a constant reminder of my harsh times as a homeless child with not a thing to loose, only an empty stomach behind. Thinking that crossing over would be the most difficult challenge of the “American Dream”. My parents did not come prepared for the far more challenges to come.…

    • 152 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    America’s Gift to My Generation would be education and schooling. Education and schooling is a gift because with children going through school only a few will become our next inventors and scientists. The education will help make our medical teams and technology better than it has ever been before. The schooling is based on how well students work in a classroom because I know I work better at a public school then being home schooled. But for one of my friends it’s the opposite.…

    • 400 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When I started my high school, I often times stumbled upon people with different belief and experiences, but there is one particular incident that will always astonish and startles me. It was my junior year in Trinity High School, I was excited to start a new year in high school. The excitement of being an upper class was infused in my heart and my mind. As far as I can recall it, I met a colleague of in my theater class. He seemed to be amazed and surprised by everything around him.…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To be an American is to be able to choose freely. Acts of terror seem to be more and more common, according to the media. In times of terror and strife the citizens of the United States of America come together no matter what beliefs and opinions we have to defeat the opposition. Secondly, America was built on immigrants, and as such we are open to diverse races and beliefs, and Americans consider people they have just met as friends. This is what I believe is my American Identity.…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    I had absolutely no idea what they were saying, but I stood there smiling and laughing. The problem with being a first-generation American is that there is always a sense of isolation. Isolation from your peers because of cultural differences, and isolation from your family because of cultural differences; I was always stuck in the middle. At age four, my family and I moved from Hong Kong to America, and I quickly assimilated to the culture here.…

    • 241 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Not everyone can say they carry a map of where they live wherever they go. This is one of the few perks that come with residing in the Mitten State: I can whip out my hand anytime and point to exactly where I’m from. For the past eighteen years, I’ve built a life in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a conservative, affluent community where everything seems perfect. For eighteen years, I’ve covered imperfections, censored thoughts, and allowed my light to be dulled. I may not have lived anywhere else yet, but the real-world is out there waiting -- and I’m ready for it.…

    • 101 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the past several decades, thousands of people have immigrated to America in search of a better life or a fresh start. They came from all corners of the Earth: different cultures, languages, and life experiences. Eighteen years ago, my family immigrated to America from Ukraine to escape religious persecution and economic instability. My parents wanted their children to have the opportunity to get a good education and succeed in life because they never had that chance. Back in the Ukraine they were looked down upon for their Christian faith; therefore, they weren’t able to attend college.…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Oxford English Dictionary defines the “American Dream” as “the ideal that every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” However, this dream does not provide an equal opportunity for all “Americans.” As Central “Americans,” my parents were forced to flee from the poverty of their country and risk their lives to migrate to the U.S., in order to “achieve success and prosperity.” They had to fight to achieve this supposed “American Dream” and it is their fight that constantly pushed me to do the best I could in order to make my their sacrifice worthwhile. The “American Dream,” the desire of a better life, the mere human instinct to be…

    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Recent studies have showed that immigrants from around the world see the “American Dream” vaguely different than an average American. We as Americans see the American dream as a life of luxury, becoming president or having more women’s rights. For immigrants, this isn’t exactly the case. Immigrants from all over the world believe that the overall “American Dream” consists of mainly two different things, freedom and equality. This is a big thing that draws immigrants to America.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When I was smaller I’ve always questioned what the American dream is all about. I was told that the American dream is an opportunity to have a better a life and an enhanced education. To my surprise, I wasn’t aware that I will encounter that dream. The process of my aunt trying to get my mom and her family to the United States. Migrating to America was one of the most important event in my life.…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    We all have dreams and goals in life, it doesn 't matter who it is, whether it’s someone poor or wealthy, we all want prosperity, opportunity and equality. The American Dream is not only one goal, we want to achieve, it’s a variety of goals we 'd like to accomplish, but everyone 's dream differs. People such as immigrants have crossed the United States border; left their homelands, families and all they know to live in a country they know nothing about to reach their goals and dreams. People do whatever it takes to make everything they have dreamed of come true because they have sacrificed all they have for a goal or goals.…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays