My mother came to the United States of America 1988 from the Philippines. She arrived in America through an exciting method: an over-the-seas trip as a delegate of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines Group. She liked what she saw, reinforcing the positive outlook of living in the USA, as shown in movies back home. And when they were supposed to return, she decided to stay longer and explore the possibilities of a better future living the American dream. She only had chump change, which was supposed to be for snacks when she got "lost ." Despite these conditions, she survived and thrived to support her family back home. She was the eldest daughter of her siblings, and with the family's finances, she was the first sent to college. My mother is a mathematical genius, which gave her plenty of options for corporate positions in finance. The one that she settled on was as an accountant at Disney corporate headquarters in Burbank, CA, and she created the groundwork for one of the company's divisions amid computer finance transitions in the Y2K era. It was when the computer systems globally were scrambling to get the needed upgrade for the incoming 2000 date systems. She later gave up on her career so that my father could continue the career path, which led him to be an OBGYN doctor and raise my siblings and me with the caring love of a mother. Even without her career, she did all sorts of work to keep the surrounding factors in check. She grew into a wonderful mother with all kinds of burdens throughout her life, and she was one role model that anyone should aspire to be. 

– JM

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