Thanks, Mom and Dad, it was worth the sacrifice

IF I ever become successful in life, my parents are the people to whom I would owe all of my gratitude. Without both of them, I would not be the same person I am today. My mother inspired and fostered my creativity, while my father introduced me to computers and technology (I have him to thank for my 80 wpm typing speed). They have allowed me to experience a life not known by many -- a life in two countries that are very far apart from each other both geographically and culturally: Indonesia and America.

In Indonesia my parents had a much easier life because they had the assistance of hired maids and a family business passed down to them from my grandfather (Waiyat Hotel). My mother could work as the artist she wanted to be, as well as being a loving mother. My father was the chairman of the hotel but still had enough free time to learn more about computers and creating networks. Except for the private schools that my brother and I attended (which focused on strict discipline rather than the promotion of creativity and thought), our family lived a comfortable and carefree lifestyle.

But in 1997, riots broke out in Indonesia's streets, and for the well-being of my brother and me, our family fled to Hawaii to escape Indonesia's economic turmoil. Our family temporarily resided at my grandparents' home in Honolulu. The move affected both of my parents greatly by imposing a hard-working and stressful lifestyle on one that had been so effortless and carefree not long ago. My mother had to work as an employee for the first time in many years, and struggled to feed her children and keep up with the bills. After my father finally received his visa and arrived in Hawaii, he also had to work as an employee (as opposed being the employer) for the first time in at least 10 years. Both of my parents were forced to work from the bottom up. My father told me that in the past, he never had to "crawl under tables to fix others' computers" (he always had his hotel workers come in to help him).

To protect Dominique and me, as well as give us a chance to thrive in a creative learning environment, my parents sacrificed so much -- their livelihood as well as their pride.

After many years of working from job to job, my parents have become successful in their work. My mother is a concierge for Hilton Hawaiian Village, and my father is a systems engineer (a computer/ technology-related job, which was possible only after he studied and achieved MCSA certification). In my eyes, my parents have become more respectable people after facing financial hardship. My father takes care of the family (he knows how to cook delicious food because he observed the family hotel's cooks as a child) and always helps the family with setting up computers and troubleshooting them. He is still the same humble, hard-working dad who came to Hawaii eight years ago. My mother has become more confident in her work and has put herself on the line many times -- as Joan of Arc did -- to expose and eliminate injustice in her workplace.

I could imagine myself now, had my family not moved to Hawaii -- a lazy, spoiled kid who fails to appreciate the lifestyle she was born into. Although I might never live in Indonesia again, the education I have received in America is priceless and was worth the change. Here in America, creativity is nurtured rather than oppressed, and although children have become disrespectful and extremely rude toward their elders, they are allowed to voice their opinions without being beaten. I also enjoy reading books, which probably would not have happened in Indonesia.

Thanks to both of my parents, I can eat good food, feel safe, be educated and experience life as a regular American youth.

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