Growing up as a first-generation American in the United States, you can't help but feel like there is more expected from you than everyone else who has parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents that were born in America. It's a tough reality, but there is a valid reason behind the constant pressure from your parents.

Parents of first-generation children in the United States went against all odds and managed to make the journey to America. They left friends, families, businesses, properties, and their whole lives in search of another life filled with opportunity. They left the comforts of their home countries just to face many new challenges like learning a foreign language, working multitudes of small jobs just to pay the bills, and getting an education. And they did this all on their own, usually with little to no help from anyone.

They made this great sacrifice not only for themselves but for you. They want you to have the opportunities they never had. They want you to have the lifestyle that they could only dream of back home. You're a part of their American Dream.

You may not realize this every day when you come home to your average, middle-class house in a nice part of town or when you're texting your friends from school on your latest iPhone, but it is exactly those "normal things" that are huge accomplishments for your parents. They had to work even harder to be where they are today. They started with nothing, but they struggled every day, and eventually fulfilled their American Dream.

For that, I can't thank my parents enough for their sacrifice. They uprooted their lives in a communist country that held back their true potential for a better future. They did that not only for themselves but for me.

Today, this is why they have certain expectations from me, push me to work as hard as I can and support my decisions. They didn't have opportunities like I do today, and that is why they want me to take advantage of them.

As a first generation, it is easy to give up. I've seen my friends and peers "give up" or not work to their fullest potential because they think they already have all that they need. I could easily follow suit by asking my parents for money instead of getting a job or by not challenging myself in school, but the thought of giving up sounds more frightening to me than the thought of facing these obstacles that require more time and effort.

I believe that I have this mentality because of my parents' expectations of me. They arrived in this country with nothing and worked hard to get to where they are today because they were determined to have a better life.... Even though their life today may be plainly described as "average," the way they got there was far from typical. If they can do that, I know that I can do that, too, and then some.

This is why I accept the expectations my parents have for me. These expectations and my parents' stories have helped to shape me into who I am and have impacted the goals I have set for myself. Even on the days that I want to give up, they drive me to better myself everyday... Because that is exactly what my parents did; they never gave up.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for allowing me to be a proud, first generation American.