America, the Land of Billionaires

As an American, I live among some of the most ambitious people on the planet Earth.  America is always ranked as one of the richest countries in the world and it has the most billionaires compared to any other countries despite how young the country is, and in fact, the richest person in the world, Bill Gates, is an American.  I live in California and here Americans fit the stereotype of being ambitious; we live in a state that is most expensive and hardest to survive in. The cost of living here is always higher than most states and in order to pay bills, you have to have a job or two.  Those who cannot afford to live in California relocate to other states for financial reason and they choose to live in states where the cost of living is more affordable. 

I came from an immigrant family where we came with nothing but a few hundred dollars that my mom saved up back in our home country Vietnam.  My parents had to work in low-waged jobs before our family was more financially stable.  I can remember my mom saving plastic bottles and use them as water bottles in order to save some cash and we had to recycle bottles of waters to bring extra cash in.  Twenty-one years later, we are more financially stable and most of my siblings have stable job so we are able to be financially independent from my parents and the government assistant.  Some families, however, never get out of poverty and continue to live in the cycle of poverty for generations.  Chicago, for instance, is one of the most segregated city in the United States; and within driving distance, one can see the well-off and upper-class white neighborhoods and the impoverished black neighborhoods. America is a great place to live but it definitely has differences on how people live out their lives base on the income they make.  

America is not perfect but I find that if we want to succeed in life, we have to use every given opportunities wisely.  Living in America is an opportunity.  Billions of people in the world would do anything to live in this land and cherish what it has to offer.  We should take every opportunity to succeed and know that there are chances out there for us to succeed.  It takes determination and motivation but it is possible if we believe. You never know, you might be one of the billionaires one day and America is a place where that dream can become a reality.