My mom came to the United States in 2000, while my dad was already here six months before my family arrived. We came for the American dream, however we were not notified that the individual has to survive, struggle, and cope in this land to reach the dream. Although we had to go through hardships to reach the position we are in now, everything we struggled for was worth the wait. At times I’m upset over the sacrifices we had to face as a family. For example, I was not able to protect my brother when he was bullied or advise him to protect himself from gang bangers. As kids we didn’t comprehend why our parents were unable to help us. But as you get older, you understand that in those days not even your parents could help because they were in the same position as us kids.