Before I start- An Introduction
Before I lionize myself and add to the mythos of the self-made man, let it be said that it takes a village to raise a man. I would not be anywhere near where I am today without the support I’ve had. Friends, mentors, family, and even industry leaders who have lent me their time, I am eternally grateful.
Composition: Fitzgerald asked us to view personality or being as the result of an unbroken series of successes gestures. At the risk of breaking with Fitzgerald, I ask you to consider examining me not as the result of successes gestures but of successes conversations, as a discursive being. In that regard, conversations will play a big part in the stories that I tell here, together with the different moments that lead me to Washington and what they meant.
With that, I would like to explain more intimately why I named things as I did and give a small glimpse into what the future of this board will hold.
Arrival at the City on a Hill: On one hand, the blog name references my status as a first-generation immigrant and on the other, my arrival in Washington for employment. The city on the hill, of course, comes from John Winthrop’s declaration of hope for a nascent America to become a shining city on a hill.
The idea of a shining city has raised its head throughout our country’s history, the timeless hope of raising something from the earth worth believing in. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The American dream, the so beautiful and perhaps unattainable aspiration that’s pulled so many to this country. I know the dream pulled my parents, who were all of twenty-three and twenty-four when they moved thousands of miles with our little family.
Inherently Political: I chose the tagline “inherently political “ in large part because of something I said in a conversation before creating this blog. When asked to tell my story during an informational coffee I began it with the preface that the life of an immigrant is inherently political, that our very existence in this country is naturally more malleable by the winds of policy than your average citizen.
For the immigrant, international sanctions can mean whether their relatives will have less food on the table come next month, while peace treaties can mean the difference between returning to their homeland or never seeing their loved ones again. To this end, it’s no surprise that the average immigrant may be able to tell you by name and number the policy or legal statute that affects their former homeland or ethnic group.
In that conversation that led here, I went on to say that because of this inherently political nature I chose to face politics head-on and take part in it, rather than let it simply control my life. So, here goes me taking control of my political life, telling my living story one truth at a time
In the future, I hope that I can chronicle my thoughts, experiences, and feelings in such a way that it gives insight into not only my experience but contributes something to the greater whole of the immigrant canon.
Up Next….. My family’s landing in the United States in Miami to Madison, WI
