My family moved here from mainland China. My father grew up in a small village where he had to go find fresh water for his family. He started working when he was nine and eventually decided to flee to Taiwan in order to have a better life. My father came here with nothing. He was the first from his area to immigrate to Boston and established himself a name in Chinatown. He started a community that fostered a sense of belonging. Growing up in a suburban town north of Boston, I didn’t realize how much he had sacrificed for my family. Working long hours in order make ends meet, starting a restaurant when the economy was down and watching it fail. It was all because he believed that the United States was a place for dreamers and where you can do anything if you work hard enough for it. He’s the epitome of the American dream.