Tae Yoon: Life from 2006-2021

sometimes i wonder if i know what it means to really struggle. i would say that i've made many mistakes in the past and am paying the consequences for them now, and probably will continue to do so in the next few years. struggling financially is such a challenge and burden when you're also trying to live and survive in life. but i have hope and the knowledge that things will only get better from this point on. and then i think about my parents and the millions of other immigrants in this country who still struggle to survive constantly on an everyday basis. if they can do it --- i can do it. sometimes i look at pictures of my parents and extended family of when they all first emigrated to this country in the 1970's and wonder, "what the hell was going through their heads?" everyday i think about my future and what i want to do in my life, i can't even imagine what thwarted dreams and aspirations they once had. and what did they think about on a daily basis? getting food on the table? exploring their new american culture? what hopes and dreams did they have? the country was SUCH a different place back then, and i don't know if i would've been brave as they were to come to a new country and take a chance for a better future. it's also so interesting to see how young and hopeful they all looked... they were once like me, too.