When my father escaped the traumatic events of the May 1998 riots in Indonesia, he and my mother made the difficult choice to leave their homeland and pursue the American Dream, despite having no family or friends in the United States. This decision reshaped all our lives as they left behind family and friends, sacrificing the many memories and experiences we could have shared had they stayed. As a child, I often felt lonely and different from my classmates, who spent weekends with cousins and family gatherings. Without contact with my extended family—grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins—a part of my identity felt incomplete. When my brother was born, I finally had someone to share my life with, but being part of such a small family also meant my parents had high expectations for me. I took on the role of my brother’s caretaker, looking after him during school breaks, teaching him math, and even bringing him along to my friends’ birthday parties. My parents trusted that I would help guide my brother and lead our family by example. The arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 added new challenges. Suddenly, I was unable to spend time with friends and lost the chance to celebrate my last day of middle school. Adjusting from in-person to online learning while starting at a new high school in ninth grade intensified my longing for the connection I should have had with my Indonesian family, who were separated from us by more than 8,000 miles. During this time, a saying my parents often shared, “Where there is a will, there is a way,” took on a special meaning. It motivated me to build a new support system for myself and I found a makeshift family within my high school’s performing arts department. The friends I met in choir, drama, and instrumental music enriched my life, giving me a sense of belonging that shaped my identity. My parents’ resilience and determination continue to drive me. Their pursuit of the American Dream fuels my ambitions. Just as they created their story from sacrifice and perseverance, I hold onto this saying as a guiding force, using it to push through my struggles. Through every phase and emotion I’ve experienced and the challenges of identity I’ve faced during my teenage years, I am prepared to face the future with the belief that where there is a will, there is indeed a way. I am determined to carry on my parents’ legacy and make the American Dream my reality. I believe that one day, I will achieve success in my career, following the paths of great immigrant children like Steve Jobs and Walt Disney, who made a positive impact on the world.