Advantages

Before I came to the United States, I had never even heard of the country, much less dreamed of living most of my life here. In January of 2007, my family of five arrived in one of the greatest countries in the world in terms of freedom and opportunities. America.

I was about six years of age when we boarded the plane at Kathmandu, Nepal and flew to Qatar to London to Newark, New Jersey, and finally to Indianapolis, Indiana. We had no idea what this strange foreign country held in store for us, but no matter the cost, we would face the obstacles together. I was in total awe of everything around me, it all felt ethereal. So much diversity in just one city, unlike in Nepal where there were mostly people of my own race.

Fortunately for us, we had wonderful family members here who helped more than enough times to get us on our own feet so we could support ourselves. We bought an apartment, nothing fancy or too spacious, but it was fine for the time being. I was content.

Adapting was possibly one of the hardest things I had to face growing up with people who weren’t my own. At school, while all the other children knew English and spoke to one another, I was an ESL — English as a Second Language — student, along with my older brother and later, my younger sister.

Now, to tell you the truth, we were definitely far from well-off. We struggled financially and it was difficult for us. My father was the only one that worked, he didn’t let my mom work because he took it on himself to raise us. Some events took place and this forced my mother to do minimum wage jobs to support our family, sacrificing her own time so she could add time to our lives. My siblings and I went to school and tried our hardest to become the best versions of ourselves so our mother would never have to lift a finger to work ever again and our father would be relieved of his grief.

After nearly eight years of living in that apartment, we moved — thankfully — to another, more prosperous city in 2015 due to my brother’s transition into college. I’ll be honest, I was relieved to be out of Terre Haute but we’d spent most of our memories there, both good and bad. Now here I am, writing a blog about some of the many happenings in my life.

My purpose in giving my background is to prove that no matter if you’re from a low-income family or the daughter of a millionaire, you have advantages and you should be thankful for what you are given.

Sure, my family isn’t filthy rich like a lot of people in our city, but dwelling on the do not haves is not the way to live life. I can’t argue about living in an apartment and not in a fancy house. There are HOMELESS people out there roaming the streets and digging through trash to find something to stay alive day by day. People holding up a sign, begging for a few coins here and there to support themselves. Children starve all across the world and die of this hunger which has plagued humanity for longer than we might be aware. Am I starving? I have food to eat. Do I have to beg on the streets or hide in the shadows of buildings, cower from cold or heat? No, I’m blessed with a roof over my head. I’m provided with clean and warm water, electricity, a family, love, opportunity, a future, hope, dreams, knowledge, ways of communication, transportation, education, good morals. The list goes on, and though I may not have much in terms of quantity, but I believe quality is of utmost importance.

Of course, I’m not the only one with advantages. Those with vast amount of wealth at their disposal can have the freedom to do what I long for: travel. In some cases, their money buys respect. It becomes easier for them to pay for things like college or essentials. Now, I’m going to admit: I obviously don’t know what they’ve been through, no one but themselves have. Whether it be they worked hard to get where they are or if they won the lottery, their life is slightly better considering their financial status. If they’re immensely wealthy, bills are not their main concern. I can’t speak entirely on their behalf, for I know nothing of THEIR hardships. Just because they have money doesn’t mean their life is stress-free. They struggle with their own battles just like everyone else fights theirs.

More than anything else, some of the things I gained out of growing up the way I did was a humble beginning and an undying curiosity to know more. I learned life doesn’t stop for you or anybody else because even if rich and successful people have more to their name, time doesn’t wait for any of us. I have advantages, as do those above or below me and one of the few we share is time.

Last night, I asked my brother what songs talk about the advantages of a human being and he told me, “Listen to Ambition by Wale”; so I did. And I liked it a lot! Ambition — by Wale, featuring Meek Mill and Rick Ross — supports my viewpoint because, as the title states, it speaks of reaching higher places and coming from humble beginnings. The lyrics are bursting with emotion and the story of a struggle, the road to achievement and success. It speaks of disadvantages that crossed his path but he overcame them. I can relate to it; despite not going through everything Wale did (as I do have more advantages as him before his fame), I have hurdles that I need to jump over and dreams to chase.

Even though rap may not be your favorite genre of music, I strongly recommend Ambition because it might speak to you the way it did to me.

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