top of page

From Immigrant Dream to American Triumph: An Eighty-Year-Old’s Legacy

The American Dream is that any man or woman, despite his or her background, can change their life circumstances as long as they are willing to work hard. The following story was translated and edited for clarity.


I was forty-two years old when I first set foot on American Soil in 1981. My husband and I were eager to start a new life abroad with our two boys, who were fourteen- and sixteen-years-old at the time. None of us spoke a word of English. As a result, finding employment in New York City was tough. I took on three different odd jobs and worked fifteen to sixteen hours a day to make ends meet. I was a seamstress in the garment district earning piecemeal pay; I pushed dim sum carts in a restaurant in Chinatown; I was also a home attendant.


Our family lived in a small one-bedroom apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. This was not a good neighborhood and we were mugged regularly.


Both of my boys were enrolled in ESL classes at school. These segregated ESL classes are probably the biggest travesty of the New York State Department of Education. ESL students should be fully and completely immersed in regular English classrooms. That way non-English speakers adopt English fluency much more rapidly and do not miss any class time. Separating non-English speakers only leads to prolonged segregation.


My younger son had a very difficult time acclimating at school. He never finished high school and was always out and about getting involved with the wrong crowd. I managed to convince my employer in the garment district to offer him a job separating and bagging sewn items. After two days of joining me at work, he was done. That was his turning point. He was determined to find a better life. He managed to get into Baruch College and discovered a natural skill in computer programming. He became more proficient in English, especially since ESL no longer existed! He later received his bachelor's degree in Computer Science from NYU. He started and sold his first company at the height of the Silicon Valley boom in 1998-1999. He started a second company centered on the trading of options and currencies.


Due to his successes in business, he retired me from all my employment. I am relieved from the stresses that poverty carries. I have back pain from repetitive strain injuries sustained while working long hours in the past. But I would have done it all over again given the opportunities it gave my children.


Despite all the hardships I endured over the years in America, I without a doubt believe in the American dream. Regardless of where you are born or what socio-economic class you were born into, you can attain your own version of success.


ความคิดเห็น


bottom of page