Recently it was the 30 year anniversary of my family emigrating to the United States. We came from Odessa, which is in present day Ukraine but was part of the former USSR when I was born.
I was just a young boy at the time, so I didn't really grasp the depth of making such a journey.
Looking back at it now though, it's a pretty heavy thing to think about. The idea of permanently moving thousands of miles away from your ancestral home of many generations; moving to a country where you don't have any connections, money, or even speak the language.
It sounds like a pretty big risk when you phrase it that way.
Why then? Why would my family and countless others take that risk? Freedom? Opportunity? Escaping an oppressive tyrannical government? These might be mere words to those who have only known life in the USA, but these ideas hold a deeper meaning to immigrants who have seen the other side of the coin.
I wasn't old enough to understand the political side of things over there, but from the stories I've heard from my parents and grandparents it's probably for the best. Between the tales of communal apartments, working on the кoлхоз(collective farms), the lack of food, medical care(I almost didn't make it past 2 months after being born), communist propaganda, etc, there are a lot of things I am glad I missed out on.
The main difference I noticed and enjoyed upon moving to the USA was the difference of all the food available; I was able to try an abundance of foods I had never even seen or heard of before. When we first arrived after our long journey, the first thing I ate was two whole bananas, my first time ever trying them. I even think the reason I prefer bananas at a very specific level of ripeness is because it matches the taste from this very experience.
As a first generation American immigrant, I have an interesting perspective on opportunity. I went to school, did OK but not great, attended college, got a degree in physics, and got a job. After less than a year, I figured the corporate life wasn't for me, so I took another job, much lower paying, in something that interested me but I didn't have much formal training in. A couple years after that, I packed up my car and moved across the country from Ohio to Las Vegas in order to pursue different opportunities.
I went on to perform as a professional acrobat, become a published author, and traveled the world as an internationally recognized instructor/presenter. All in a field where I had no formal training and essentially going against what would have been my "predetermined destiny" in life. This was made possible through hard work, opportunities presented, and many people who I had the honor of learning from. Over 10 years later, I have once again moved across the country to a new location, again with the hope of potentially building a new career path.
So when phrases like "land of opportunity" get thrown around, the USA is a place where you can legitimately start with nothing, work hard, and build something amazing without having to grease any pockets along the way. If things don't work out, you can move to another state, start over, and try again.
Know that I don't care much for politics or borders, but I do believe that the USA is the greatest country in the world. A country that was founded on rebellion against authority. I am grateful for the sacrifices my family made to be able to live here, and I am grateful to be an American.
Finally, I am not trying to start any political conversations here. This is just the perspective of one immigrant who came over at a young age. I am grateful to have had opportunities and success I most likely would not have had a chance at otherwise. No place is perfect or without issues, but I do think it's important to listen to the stories of immigrants who have seen different sides of history. There is a reason why people from all over the world try to emigrate to the USA.