Leaving home can be hard, yet ultimately rewarding. Randell Jed Feliciano reflects on the opportunities afforded to him by immigrating to the U.S.

Growing up in another country before coming here definitely changed the way I see things when it comes to a point of maturing and realizing reality.

Before I came here to the US five years ago, I was still living in the Philippines. I’d say I wasn’t in a place fully developed and you can feel the essence of living in a province – the trees, the land, the people, the culture, it’s all very different from here. Being raised in the Philippines, I saw two different kinds of life – a life of poverty around me – full of dreams, full of determination with a little chance to make it out. The other is a life here, where there are opportunities and ways that will encourage you even more to prosper – the sole reason why I came to this country, to have that taste of chance not everyone is fortunate to have. Although I know that there are a lot of people in my country who have even more drive to prosper, I think what discourages this drive is the scarcity of opportunities.

I’d say I’m lucky to be here, specifically in San Francisco, a city full of community. The diversity made it easier for me to adapt. I found friends that I could rely on and people that are willing to help. Spending the last five, almost six years living here, I know that what I have now is the fruit of my parents’ sacrifices and I know not to take their sacrifices for granted. Now that I’m finally about to graduate high school, I won’t waste the gift my parents gave me that could be an entire legacy.

With the opportunities all around me, colleges and universities that I could utilize, I always look back and think what if I was still in the Philippines? My dad would probably still work abroad, and I’ll only be able to see him for a month or so every one or two years. My parents would work three times as much just to put me in college. That is why I look at the gift of education here as a silver lining. I love my country. It’s a wonderful place. But no matter how beautiful a rose is, you sometimes can’t help but get stung by its thorns and that’s a sad reality.

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Coming to this point, I’m still only starting but being aware that there are countless possibilities that lie ahead for me, I’ll grab them all, make my parents proud and make myself proud to have a better life. I know I’ll face a lot of hardship ahead, but achievements and milestones are always hard earned. “Nothing comes in an instant.” That’s what my dad always says.

With a Perspective, I’m Randell Jed Feliciano.

Randell Jed Feliciano is a student at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco. His piece was produced with the KQED Youth Takeover classroom program. Tune in to Youth Takeover from April 22nd to the 26th when teens will share their stories across KQED programs.

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