Immigrant Stories: Our Superheroes

Once I discovered that coming from immigrant parents was a superpower and not a hindrance...I blossomed into the proud and confident child of immigrants I am today.

Growing up, I was never told but rather engulfed in the feeling that I was "behind" my peers because there was SO much to learn and understand alongside my parents. My peers didn't have to worry about finding the right tax documents for our yearly elementary school application, nor did they have to explain to their families that our friends should purchase pre-packaged subs for our school's fundraiser. Having to explain these little American ideals made me feel like my parents knew nothing. 

This feeling of "nothing" evoked a feeling of despair and loss. 

A foreign feeling in my unified home. My parents never made me feel inferior or behind, they always showered me with confidence and love, so why did I feel like my family knew nothing? 

It wasn't until I understood that behind all the things they didn't know, were numerous unimaginable things to me. My parents knew so much more than I had ever given them credit for.

Being a child of immigrants is demanding and beautiful, I now comprehend that my parents intentionally went through suffering and vulnerability in hopes of giving my brother and I the life they once dreamed of. Once I recognized that my parents knew mounds more than nothing and that learning the small American ideals was something so minuscule compared to everything else they've had to learn in life, I finally saw my parents as superheroes. The superheroes I appreciate and look up to everyday. 

Written By: Maxine Osorio