Madison O’Toole
Events
Every time I look in the mirror, I’m reminded of my heritage. My entire life, I’ve looked at my reflection and seen that small, square jaw, hailing from the highlands of Scotland. I’ve seen my extremely fair, pale skin, a dead giveaway for my Irish ancestry. Every day I’ve looked at the characteristic shape of my nose that I had never been able to put my finger on. For the past 18 years, I’d looked at these pieces of my lineage, knowing that I was mostly Scots-Irish, but never once thought about how they came to be. Prior to my research, I had been oblivious to the struggle, strife, and pure chance that went into creating my family’s existence in the U.S, and the strife of immigration overall. Initially, all that I knew about my heritage was the minimal amount of information I had heard in passing over the course of my life. I …show more content…
This country is one built on a basis of immigration. Almost every person residing in the U.S. is likely be able to find a story of their ancestor’s struggles when they first arrived in the U.S, be it 300 years ago or 10 years ago. Many people like James Lindley made the effort to come here just for the right to practice their own religion free of persecution, a right seen as completely innate in modern society. Some immigrants came against their will like Alexander Stuart, and had no say in the matter. And many immigrants like Josef Daroczy came in hopes of economic prosperity, not unlike the current waves of immigrants from South America. Essentially, immigration is what allowed our country to grow in the past and continue to grow in the future. This is the land of opportunity, and the opportunity should apply for everyone. Almost all of our ancestors, including my own, struggled to get here and live their dreams, and not acknowledging the struggles of immigrants as a whole, disrespects the hard work of your
Events
Every time I look in the mirror, I’m reminded of my heritage. My entire life, I’ve looked at my reflection and seen that small, square jaw, hailing from the highlands of Scotland. I’ve seen my extremely fair, pale skin, a dead giveaway for my Irish ancestry. Every day I’ve looked at the characteristic shape of my nose that I had never been able to put my finger on. For the past 18 years, I’d looked at these pieces of my lineage, knowing that I was mostly Scots-Irish, but never once thought about how they came to be. Prior to my research, I had been oblivious to the struggle, strife, and pure chance that went into creating my family’s existence in the U.S, and the strife of immigration overall. Initially, all that I knew about my heritage was the minimal amount of information I had heard in passing over the course of my life. I …show more content…
This country is one built on a basis of immigration. Almost every person residing in the U.S. is likely be able to find a story of their ancestor’s struggles when they first arrived in the U.S, be it 300 years ago or 10 years ago. Many people like James Lindley made the effort to come here just for the right to practice their own religion free of persecution, a right seen as completely innate in modern society. Some immigrants came against their will like Alexander Stuart, and had no say in the matter. And many immigrants like Josef Daroczy came in hopes of economic prosperity, not unlike the current waves of immigrants from South America. Essentially, immigration is what allowed our country to grow in the past and continue to grow in the future. This is the land of opportunity, and the opportunity should apply for everyone. Almost all of our ancestors, including my own, struggled to get here and live their dreams, and not acknowledging the struggles of immigrants as a whole, disrespects the hard work of your