A Filipino-American’s success is generally measured by the steady flow of balikbayan boxes that show up on our relatives’ doorsteps in the Philippines, as well as our ability to readily provide for their needs. Sadly, though, the real stories of our day-to-day struggles are hardly ever told.
People come to the US with hopes of living the American Dream. The pursuit of that dream, however, is almost always pommelled by difficulties. I have met people who are living testimonies to these challenges. Fortunately, they also personify the epitome of the Filipino resilience—the ability to overcome any situation no matter how difficult the circumstances are.
Take the story of Aldo who was lured into the US by his dream of a bright future. Unknown to his family and friends, he was practically homeless during the first three months of his quest for a better life in California.
He had an office job that didn’t pay. But in exchange for his work, he was allowed to sleep in the office—a better option compared to the bus stop on Willow Street in Long Beach. For about three months, the floor was his bed and his laundry were his pillows. The bosses’ lunch leftover was his dinner and breakfast was nothing else but coffee.
It was a choice he loathed for several months before he eventually came to terms with it and pinned his faith on fate: that things fall apart because they are meant to eventually fall into place. They ultimately did.
I also recently met Josephine who has had her American dream by the hand but almost lost it when the nation’s housing market took a deep, painful dive in 2008. Unable to make her monthly mortgage payment, her house was foreclosed.
Although Josephine’s American homeownership tale comes with a happy ending—courtesy of the National Asian American Coalition that helped reverse the foreclosure of her property—the journey leading to it wasn’t one without painful emotional and mental bruises.
Aldo’s and Josephine’s experiences are just microscopic fractions of the stories that can be told about Filipino-Americans in the US. But these are some of the most compelling stories that I hope to tell—through this column and through a weekly TV show “Owning a Piece of America”—to motivate millions of other immigrants to continuously believe in their dreams.
Indeed, life is one big—sometimes scary and sometimes exciting—roller coaster ride. But it is encouraging to know that there are hands that are ready to reach out for us to hold when the ride takes a deep plunge. It is reassuring to know we have friends we can count on to make our pursuit of the American dream a very reachable goal.
Life in a foreign country is not easy. But it also presents us with ways and reasons to pull through. We have the innate ability to overcome many challenges with our hard work, talent, determination and love for our family.
