A letter to my parents: Thank you for being the best parents ever

I don’t think I have ever truly expressed how much I love my parents. To the point where I would give up everything for them. I can’t ever do enough to thank them for all the sacrifices that they endured in order to provide me with a better life. How can you not love them, when they are so cute together.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I don’t think I can ever thank you enough for giving me such a good life and thank you for coming to the US, so I can say I’m an US Citizen. I know you don’t share my love of traveling, but as a US Citizen I can go anywhere without an issue and I know you knew the US would provide so many opportunities for us.

I cannot imagine having to live through a terrible war and escape with all the stories that you gathered along the way. You had nothing, but the clothes you were wearing when you escaped, not even a picture to keep along the way.

I know how bad it scared you to escape, especially Dad, he barely talks about it because it’s so horrible. I cannot imagine after escaping, then living in refugee camps for years waiting for a helicopter to come and take you anywhere as long as it got you out of there.

I thank God that even though you both had your own stories when you were younger, but that your roads led you to a small university in Kansas where Dad took one look at Mom and told everyone she’s mine. And even after 33 years, everyone can see how much you love her.Because I wouldn’t have been born, even though I know I didn’t choose the most convenient time to make an appearance in the world and made life a little harder for you, I hope I make you proud. I remember when I was little and moving from apartment to apartment to save money, we were poor. I know you and Mom never bought anything nice for yourselves for a very long time, but you would never deprive your kids of anything, but you deprived yourselves.

I remember you told me when I was little, you would buy yourself cheap shoes that would hurt your feet, but for me, you would buy the cutest shoes that costed 5 times more. At one point, you could not afford vacuum when it broke, but you saved money to take baby pictures of all of us.

You sacrificed so much to make sure we had a good education, a roof over our heads, food on the table, and lots of good memories.We may not have had every toy on the market, but we had every lesson we wanted from piano, to dance, and even ice skating after I saw Michelle Kwan at the Olympics and wanted to be her. No parents took care of us better than you two with no family around to help you.

Thank you for letting each of us find our own passion. I know you wished we were the typical Asian family with a pharmacist, doctor, and lawyer or engineer. Unfortunately, none of us became any of the typical professions, but I want you to know, you gave us such a solid footing, that we are doing very well.

You have raised the three of us to know right and wrong, be a good person, and kind to others. All of us graduated college, none of us got in trouble with drugs or alcohol, and I think even without mentioning our job titles, that is an accomplishment in itself.

You told me since the day I was born, that I was different. You knew it, I was strong-headed Thank you for loving me when I was a hyper child that was too inquisitive for my own good, a moody teenager, a determined graduate who wanted to be a big wig, and now someone who is fine standing on my own.