My parents came from Egypt to New York in 1999. My mother has 7 siblings and my father has 6 siblings. Out of all their siblings they are the first ones who migrated to America. This makes me think how life would have been for me if I was raised and still lived in Egypt. To be apart of the only family in my family tree that had the chance to come to America just shows me how truly blessed I am. When my father came to America we had nothing. For the first year or so we lived with my fathers friend. He helped my father get a job so he could at least make ends meat. Working very hard for 15 years my father was able to open up his own business and have 2 stores in Manhattan. He tells me everyday that he bought our family to America for a better life for us and that constantly motivates me to keep working hard everyday so I can show him that his decision has also set up his children for success. But were some hardships during the early years of migration. For example, during the 9/11 era, my mother got a lot of hatred just because she wore the hijab.I still remember one day where a white woman spit on my mother just for having a hijab on. During that time my parents were contemplating going back to Egypt but we stuck it out during the tough time. Although the big change from Egypt to America, my parents still raised my siblings and I how they would have raised us if we lived in Egypt. They made sure we did very good in school and were very strict on that. They also made sure to implement religion on us heavily. Thank you for all the hard work and sacrifices you made Mom and Dad. 

– aly abdel salem

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant