I have always been the type to be extremely proud of my Ukrainian culture. Whenever we were asked in class if we spoke any languages, my hand would be the first to shoot up. I think it's important to know your roots and where you come from. But not only know, but be proud of who you are.
My parents came to the United States in December of 1996. My mom was seven months pregnant with me and all they had to their name was barely a thousand dollars and a new start. My parents came here to better not only my life but theirs as well. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and that was strongly affecting countries, like their own. My dad majored in civil engineering back in Ukraine and my mom was a school teacher, when they came here my mom became a stay home and raised me while my dad got his hands on any job offered to him, which at the time was delivering pizza. We lived in the seven oaks apartments, which are now the metropolitan, for whoever knows the West Chester area.
One night my dad was at work and went to deliver pizza to a really nice house in West Chester. A man answered a door, and they began to talk. because he noticed my dads thick Ukrainian accent, which he was able to relate to. He ended up offering my dad a job at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. The first couple months were hard. My dad had to take English classes, as well as computer classes in a language he wasn't proficient in yet. He worked long hard hours, leaving my mom alone with me. After a couple years, my dad excelled to one of the top positions of his IT team. My dad now works for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and is a senior IT manager there. My mom went back to school for respiratory therapy at West Chester University (CoGo Rams!) She graduated on Deans list after having my sister. The reason I'm telling you all this is because when you're a child of immigrant parents you look at life differently. You appreciate everything your parents have done and sacrificed for you. My parents sold all their belongings and left their friends and family to come here for me and my sister. They left their education, their culture, their language, and everything they knew behind. Being a child of immigrants means you get pushed but in a good way. They want to make sure they made the right choice by coming here so that one day you're better off than they were. My parents started a brand new foundation for me here and the pressure and spotlight have always been on me to succeed. It gets scary sometimes, but it's a big motivation to be the best person I can be.
Growing up, I was taught the pride of being American, but I never forgot the pride of being Ukrainian too. My parents never failed to remind me how lucky I was to be given an opportunity to live in the U.S. because they were so thankful for that opportunity. My mom cooks Ukranian foods, and we speak Ukrainian at home. As my parents always say " You won't ever forget English, you live in the United States, so the least you can do is speak Ukrainian at home so you don't forget." After my parents came here, the rest of my dad's side migrated here as well. They all worked just as hard as my parents and all have great jobs, similar to my dad's. Unfortunately, my moms side of the family is still in Ukraine so we make the effort to go every two years to visit. This is where I'm so thankful to be connected to my Ukrainian roots. I'm able to communicate with my family and appreciate my culture that much more because my parents made sure that I lived a life of duality. It also makes me appreciate what my parents did for me when you live in a 2 bedroom apartment, with 6 people and no air conditioning in 97-degree weather.
To anyone who has Immigrant parents, it may seem like they're hard on you now, but it's only tough love. Whether it may seem like they're harder on you when it comes to school or curfew. They want to see you succeed and see that everything that they did was enough for you to be the very best you can be here because the outcome might have been completely different if they didn't make those sacrifices for you.
