<p>One cold night when I was seven, I awoke to hear my parents argue. Earlier that day my father's car had been stolen by police officers and upon confrontation he had been brutally beaten. That night he convinced my reluctant mother and decided that enough was enough. He had to achieve his life-long dream: America.</p>
<p>We came to Southern California in August 2001, three weeks before 9/11. Though both my parents had been dentists in Turkey their degrees suddenly became worthless. My mother stayed at home while my father studied to become recertified. In three years our savings ran out .We had lived a comfortable life in Turkey but when the dental board postponed my father's exams, we went on welfare. My father started driving a taxi. My parents had been transformed from respected medical professionals to a taxi driver and housewife living in poverty. </p>
<p>I remember being picked up from school, a classmate sinisterly taunting "Is <strong>that</strong> your dad?" as my father parked his yellow cab. My downcast face turned crimson. I replied "no." Two nights later my father came home from driving his taxi, his face bruised. A passenger in his cab punched him because of his Muslim name. I was ashamed of myself.</p>
<p>I became who I am during those challenging years. I didn't have the advantages my classmates possessed but I had something much more important: drive. My father inspired me to realize that I was the master of my own fate and that hard work and dedication, rather than family name or social prestige, were the only routes to success. I learned from my father every day. Not able to buy me video games, he instead drove me to the library. Taking valuable time off of work, my father read to me a plethora of books, anything from science to history. Reading soon became an obsession and I indulged myself. In class I was caught reading Dr.Zhivago when I was supposed to read Dr.Seuss. I transformed from hardly knowing English to habitually reading Dostoevsky, Vonnegut, and Chekhov. I often stayed up till 2 or 3 AM reading under the covers knowing that my father was out working. </p>
<p>He passed his exams and a few years later my father received his Dental certification in the mail. We had been hurt and shamed but we finally made it. That day my father smiled warmly with tears in his eyes and told me: "It was worth it." He lived and realized the American Dream; however, now it was my turn. I studied long and hard and whenever I felt tired or bored I reminded myself what my father had gone through. Possessed, I took the most rigorous classes and began volunteering hours upon hours tutoring kids much like myself. I made sure I enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program, in Model United Nations, and in all AP classes possible. And though like my parents before me, I stumbled from time to time, I never lost focus and never gave up. I went from hardly speaking English to the top 2% of my class, from a quiet and ashamed immigrant child to winning top awards in Model UN. </p>
<p>I came to possess the same drive that propelled my father to leave his home and create a new life from scratch. I felt compelled to realize my aspirations. My father taught me that we have nothing if not our dreams. I have grown to love knowledge for its own sake and my dream is to keep learning. I live knowing that I am here because of the dreams of my father. I am here because he made it all possible.</p>
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<p>what do you guys think?</p>
<p>Link your own and i'll read it </p>
<p>This is 611 words, ill have to cut to 500 but let me know how the general feel is...</p>