Inspiration

#eyeslipsfierce

From the deep jungles of Laos under heavy gunfire to the sliver of hope in the unfamiliar United States of America, she took a chance and fled the dangers of her homeland with her children. It was a journey that she needed to make in order to safeguard the futures of later generations. Along the way, she lost her husband as well as several of her children. Her husband wasn't a soldier; he was a scholar, but still, he became an unfortunate casualty of warfare. She lost several of her children to sicknesses that could've been prevented if they hadn't needed to run and hide from both Vietnamese and Laotian communists.

After many heartbreaks and lifechanging events, she and five of her six surviving children were able to settle in a new country. Almost two decades later, her eldest child and his family joined them. Life in a new country was very hard. She couldn't speak the language, had no proper education, and was already too old to work. Her older children were in their teenaged years and were still in school. Despite many obstacles, she encouraged her children to work hard to achieve success. Education was significant. If one could learn everything and anything that was offered, then one could build upon that foundation to succeed—even in a foreign land.

So, while her children, and then her grandchildren, were going to school, she was also gaining knowledge of her own. As a young child, I remember helping her read English from a traffic signs book. I also remember seeing her books about the Hmong language. She often asked for my help with how to read Hmong, but I hadn't learned it myself yet. I was always impressed by how clear her English pronunciation was and her determination to learn. It didn't take long for her to understand some of the English words that we used in our daily conversations.

While I was growing up, she and I often didn't see eye to eye. Even in the recent years, I can't say that we have ever been very close. However, she has always been the first person to come to my mind whenever I think about someone in my life who is fierce and resourceful. I admire her tenacity to brave the unknown with no prior knowledge of its dangers to save her family. I admire her will to keep going even after suffering many losses. I admire her ideas and abilities to establish a livelihood by selling homemade rice wine and sticky corn pancakes among many other things in order to support herself.

Whenever I feel lost, I think about the woman who narrowly escaped communism, supported her children on her own, and built a life in a country so different from her homeland. It is because this woman was unwavering in the face of fear and uncertainty that I am here today. This incredible woman is my grandma who has always been the most inspirational to me.