Growing up in Latvia during the turbulent times following the collapse of the Soviet Union, my family did not have much. My mother, a single mother of two, struggled as she worked four jobs to put food on the table for me and my brother. One day, in the midst of teaching an English class, she fainted from hunger. It was in that moment that she realized that she needed to find a way out of the dark vacuum that was engulfing her family, no matter how challenging or precarious that way may be.
In October of 1996, a brave woman arrived in the United States with nothing but five dollars in her pocket and nothing but perseverance on her mind. She began working as a caretaker for an elderly couple with Alzheimer’s, and every dollar she made was sent back home to her children. Three years, lots of tears, heaps of hardship and numerous immigration court cases later, my mother’s dreams came true – she brought her children to the United States of America.
My life, as well as the lives of my family members, has come a long way since that chilly October morning when I saw my mother boarding that plane, tears in her eyes, promising us a better tomorrow. Two weeks ago, I became a citizen of the United States. I cannot even begin to describe the feelings of joy and gratitude that overwhelmed me when I became a part of this amazing nation. The struggles that my family went through now seem light-years away, but not a day has gone by when I have not counted my blessings. I thank God every day for guiding my family through difficult times, I thank my mother for her strength and perseverance, and I thank America for taking my family in as one of its own.
I am also thankful for my struggles because, as cliché as that may sound, they truly made me the person that I am today. I do not take things for granted, for I know what it’s like to have nothing; I work hard at everything I do, for I have an amazing mother as my inspiration and my role model; most importantly, however, I devote myself wholeheartedly to helping others, for I know what it’s like to be forgotten and neglected in this world of seven billion people, as my family once was.
In “Tuesdays with Morrie,” Mitch Albom wrote, “So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”
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| The morning I became a citizen of the United States of America |
