4 ms·
My college roommate for a few years was also Vietnamese, born in a refugee camp. He went on to a top medical school and today is a specialist doctor. I often
by evmar 11y ago
My college roommate for a few years was also Vietnamese, born in a refugee camp. He went on to a top medical school and today is a specialist doctor.
I often think about how I slacked my way through college, and how hard my friend worked. For me, I figured people were hiring programmers without college degrees, and I could always fall back on my middle class parents; for him and the sacrifices his family made, failure was not an option.
It's a real reminder of what privilege means.
- stephenitis 11y agoIt's easy to forget sometimes even as a child of a immigrant parent who gave their sweat, tears, and all they ever knew for a better life. The further away you get from a real struggle story the more important I think it is to travel, give back, and volunteer. Walking the streets and living in San Francisco can really distort reality sometimes making a reality checks very much important.
- anpk 11y agoThank you. I've been trying to come up with a good way to describe privilege and 'having the option to fail' is an apt way to describe it.