Reflective Essay: My National Origin Of Immigrants

My national origin is America, but I have an understanding of the immigration experience from my parents. I am privileged to be an American living in America. As an American compared to a non-American citizen, I receive benefits, more likely to receive a higher paying job, do no fear being deported back to county of origin, less likely to be discriminated against due to birthplace, have the opportunity to farther my education and have basic rights such as voting. Because my parents are immigrants, I witnessed their oppression and my privilege. My mother had to pay for her college out of pocket. She was unable to receive financial aid because of her citizen status. My father could only work jobs that were considered off the books jobs. Off the books jobs are jobs that pay their employees cash and the earnings are not taxed. Jobs that my parents qualified for were very limited. They experienced oppression for being an immigrant in American. However, I did not
I have embrace being first generation American and is opened to learning about other people national origin. Learning about immigrant’s national origins helps me understand their culture. National origin plays an important role on an individual culture and values. One of the challenges I face in this area is not letting my privilege blind my judgments. Sometimes I see or heard other people my age not attending school or have a job. I tend to think that they are being lazy or do not know what they are doing with their lives. Being mindful of my thoughts, I understand that such thinking is a result of my privilege. Not every young people my age has the opportunities I had. There are young people living in America that are not citizen or able to apply for the same jobs as me. Therefore, I will continue to be mindful of my privilege in being American. I will increase my awareness in oppression of people that holds oppression in national