My Family and The American Dream
50 years ago, on July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 took off for the moon. Four days later, Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. One of the signature dates in the history of the world.
A little less famous, but for me, just as an important event took place in Cleveland, Ohio. A poor, farming, immigrant family from Croatia (then Yugoslavia) stepped off a plane and started a bit of history for themselves.
My father, mother, brother, and I arrived the same day that the Apollo 11 mission left. I was 21 months old and little did I know that I was now in the greatest country in the world. The one millions of immigrants had dreamed to come to: The United States of America.
50 years later, much has changed but that fact remains – America is still the greatest country in the world.
My parents came with a simple dream: make their kids realize a life that was not paralyzed by communism and labored by farming. My father found a job one week after we arrived and my mom soon after. They worked days, nights, and weekends, whenever they needed to. They walked to work, took a bus or got a ride until they had enough money to buy a car for themselves. They obeyed the laws of the land and of morality. They did not take handouts or beg for any help. They adopted the customs of the country and the colors of the flag, while still respectfully upholding their Croatian traditions and language. They cheered for every victory this country enjoyed and cried for every hardship or loss.
Their sons followed that hard work and sacrifice by creating a life that they were proud of. We took advantage of work, college, travel, and freedom to become whatever we wanted. Years later, we became citizens of the United States. Here are the words we recited and swore to:
“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”
An oath I took that day and will abide until my dying day. So Help me God!
Thank You America!
Action Step: Be proud of this country and what it has given you!
The Gratitude List is a simple, yet profound book that guides you to creating a list of people who have meant the most to your life and then using the list to remember and thank them regularly.
It is also a tribute to all the people who I am grateful for in my life. I hope the stories make you laugh, cry and think.
My hope is that this book brings back memories of all the people that have made you who you are today and helps you make your very own GratitudeList.
All proceeds will go to my brother’s charity “The Boris Pavicic Leukemia Foundation.”