Escape from Genocide

Imagine being 17 years old and seeing the country you love crumble around you, loved ones being taken from you with no recourse. Now, as it crumbles, you have to fight for refuge in a completely unfamiliar country whose "native" language is not one you know. This was my family's battle, and one of the women leading the ship did everything in her power to ensure her family's safety.

I am so proud to call this woman my mom. She defied all odds and found a way to gain refugee status in order to survive, in which she even found a way to thrive. She had to fight and plead her case, but in the end, my mother was able to help gain safety for herself, her mom, her dad, and her brother and sister.

My mom found solace in the quiet surroundings of Idaho where she and her family found a small apartment that housed the 5 of them. And while they were in tight quarters, it was no different than their living situation overseas where they were surrounded by death and terror. Although most people would take the situation for granted, my family made sure to appreciate every moment of safety and love they shared with one another.

In order to get her feet under her, my mom had to find work. She was lucky to find a job at Arby's where she knew a total of two phrases: curly fries and roast beef. She walked the 2 miles to work every day with her mom and always kept a smile on her face. Working got easier once she learned more of the language, and while her accent remained, she started to feel like she fit in.

Within a year of arriving, a marriage was on the horizon, which shortly lead to me. My mom was 19, a mother of one battling cancer, all while going to school full-time. Within a few years, she was graduating from dental school with honors, happy to be able to go back to working just one job and having more time to focus on me.

Soon after graduation and a separation, my mom made the decision to move from Washington state, which is where she had been going to school, down to Arizona. My mom continued to make sacrifices for me, whether it meant staying home on the weekends or sacrificing her evenings to take me to any of the extracurriculars she made a point for me to have.

My mom spent a few years working on her career, building up her experience so she could open her own practice. She had hardly any time on her hands, but as luck would have it, my mom met her soulmate in an online music store. You know those moments in the movies where the main protagonists reach for the same CD and barely touch hands, gazing into each other's eyes, and falling in love? Imagine that but... virtually! 20 years later, and they're still going strong.

My mom created a dental practice that put everyone at ease, and eventually, she was able to retire early. And while she retired for a couple years, she wanted to put the passion she had in dentistry into passing that on to others.

So this is a thank you to my mom. Thank you for finding a way to get to America and have me as your daughter. Thank you for the sacrifices you always made, and even continue to make. But most of all, thank you for being an incredible inspiration for me and how I should lead my life. Thanks to you, I know my worth as a daughter, as a person, and as someone who hopes to make an impact on the world as big as the one you've made on me. I love you mom, you are truly incredible, and I couldn't be more proud to be your daughter.