A first-generation immigrant reflects on his parents' sacrifices after losing their home in 2008, arguing that 2025's biggest problem is people giving up on building legacies. He calls for a shift away from blaming systems and toward creating lasting value for the next generation.
I think the biggest problem in 2025 is that no one is trying to build a legacy for themselves or their kids anymore. They would rather talk about how all the cards are stacked against them and feel sorry for themselves. And growing up here in LA and going to public school in LAUSD, I have been around so many first-generation students, people that graduated high school in their family for the first time, or went ahead and graduated college, got a corporate job, But that couldn't be done unless their parents took the biggest leap of faith, and that's coming here to the United States with not knowing anything that's going to go ahead and happen, but only to build a legacy for themselves and their family. And I'm first generation myself, right? Like, my family or my parents aren't the wealthiest, they're not the smartest, they lost their house in 2008, and sometimes they feel bad because they're not going to be able to go ahead and leave their kids anything. But at the end of the day, why should we feel bad about that, right? My parents went ahead and gave me the biggest gift they could ever give me, and that is going ahead and being— allowing me to grow up here, become a citizen here, and build businesses here. So I think we have to go back to stop feeling sorry for yourself and start building a life where you live a legacy for those of you that, you know, grandparents that came from here and you are first generation.
