Thanks Parents

     I know I talked about it in class but then I thought to myself, "Hey, rant about it more on blogger." So, I'm ranting about it more on Blogger. I guess it really all started with my parents. My dad dropped out of college in Egypt because he wanted to travel to the U.S. for better opportunities. When he got here, he took the first job he could get. Around this time in 1986, my dad was washing dishes in a diner somewhere in New Jersey. On the other hand, my mom finished college and got her bachelor's degree in physics, which also happens to be one of my least favorite subjects. Inherently, my first reaction to this was, "Physics? Gross."

     My dad traveled back and forth between Egypt and the U.S. pretty much just trying to figure his life out. One year when he was back in Egypt, my grandma told him about a young woman who lives down the street that she wants him to marry. That woman was my mom. How romantic. In typical Arabic fashion, the families met and agreed upon the marriage. My sister was born in 1996 and four years later, I was born. At that point, my dad had brought the family to the states, so I was actually born in a small town in New Jersey, unlike my sister, who was born in our home country. This is where things get a little complicated.

     After years of working with chefs, my dad learned how to cook. When I was born, he was actually working as a cook and he was making significantly more money than during his days as a dishwasher. For a while, our four person family was living off his income. As time went on and cost of living rose, my mom needed to get a job. You're probably thinking, "Well, she has a degree in physics. This should be a piece of cake." Nope. My mom couldn't use her degree in the states. It was almost like she had to validate her bachelor's in physics by paying money for two more years of school. Money that we just didn't have. My mom had to start working earning just minimum wage, and I knew kids at my high school that got jobs over summers paying well over minimum wage. It just wasn't fair.

     I can say now, after many years, that my parents gave my sister and I a pretty great life. We wore nice clothes, nice shoes, and we always had the newest phone. But, my parents are tired, both physically and mentally, and it sure as hell wasn't easy for them. They slaved to put me and my sister through college in the hopes of us achieving more, in the hopes of us living a better and easier life than they did. This is why I say that I'm in school because of my parents. I don't want them to have worked all these years for nothing. One of my life goals, ever since I started high school was to retire my parents early. Another one of my life goals was to buy them a house, or at least help them buy one because they've never owned one. My parents are my motivation. Without them, I just don't see myself having the same drive to study, to read, to get a degree. Although, yea, this post might've started off sarcastically, the ending got pretty real for me.To be honest, I couldn't thank and appreciate my parents more.