Setting Goals in Life

I was fortunate enough to have my parents bring me to the USA when I was 10 months old. We all became United Sates citizens in 1967, I was eleven years old. My Dad made raised me to believe that hard work, honesty and commitment to my God and family will pay off greatly because we are in the land of opportunity. A day that I will never forget is when my parents decided to buy a house. I was about ten years-old and came home from school to find them taking cash out of coffee cans and counting it. I always knew there were lots of coffee cans in the house; I just thought that my folks really liked coffee. Little did I know that all of the coffee cans in the kitchen cabinets and closets were full of cash! After a lot of counting, my brother, my parents, and I took three large burlap bags full of cash on a bus to downtown Cleveland, Ohio to buy a house. That day in 1966, my parents bought their first house for eleven thousand dollars cash. A few days later I had an opportunity to see our new home. I was thrilled because we actually had a yard with a lawn that we could play in. Of course, it didn't take long for my dad to rip out the lawn so he could plant a vegetable garden. My protests were dismissed by my Dad yelling, "We don't need grass. We aren't raising sheep!" Not long after that my dad acquired a hog and several chickens. Needless to say, we had some major confrontations with some city officials who made sure we didn't raise farm animals in the city. Just like my Dad, I love the USA and am very thankful for all of the opportunities this country has offered me. I now know that my dad was right. Through hard work, dedication to God, my goals and family, while striving to maintain integrity in all that I do, anything is possible in America. God Bless America and everything it stands for. Without it, I could have never reached my dreams and I believe that if I can do it, anyone can.