I am Grateful for ‘Coming to America.’ Are You?

Last night, as I was stuck in Manchester Road’s traffic and listening to NPR, Neil Diamond’s song “Coming to America,” started playing during a special about meaningful songs for immigrants.

I have to confess that I have never heard this song before, and at the risk of sounding cheesy, I will just say that it gave me the chills.

“Free, only want to be free. We huddle close; hang on to a dream,” blasted Diamond through the radio as I couldn’t help but ponder about my own journey to this country.

It’s been a little more than seven years since my mother and I arrived in an American Airlines plane at Lambert's International Airport in the middle of a hot and humid summer night. We had just arrived from Medellin, Colombia. 

It was the beginning of an incredible adventure. 

You will always have the naysayers who complain about everything--those who see an opportunity to criticize every aspect of their daily lives and their surroundings.  

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in criticism. I am a journalist after all, and one of our duties is to analyze and criticize our society and government so that it may be improved.

Nonetheless, I often hear the comments, “I swear I will move to Canada if____,” or, “I can’t wait to leave St. Louis and go to a real city when I graduate,” which I heard often in college.

I am sure there are many, many areas of improvement here and elsewhere in the country, but constant whining will not solve a thing.

I can only speak for myself, but I will like to share with you a few of the reasons why I am grateful to have come to this country:

• The amazing teachers of Marquette High School who helped me read, write and understand this language;
• The many, well maintained parks of the city of Ballwin and vicinity where I played, made friends and grew up;
• The ability to get a job when I turned 16;
• Driving a car;
• Having a roof over my head;
• The opportunity to seek a secondary education;
• Seeking a career in journalism in a society that respects speech as its highest constitutional pillar;
• Growing up with friends and neighbors from different religions and backgrounds, from whom I learned about the world and its peculiarities like I could have never done.

Sure, some of you may say that it doesn’t sound like much. You have grown accostumed to having these things.

To you, all I can say is this: You have no idea how lucky you are.

Those simple, little things are the reasons why, in Mr. Diamond’s words, “Everywhere around the world, they're coming to America.”

Thank you and happy Independence Day.