Against All Odds

As a Toastmasters member, I get the opportunity to work on my public speaking skills. For my most recent speech, I talked about how my parents met. They didn’t meet in a conventional way.

My dad was in the Army during the Vietnam War and was stationed in Taiwan. My mom was working at a nightclub, and my dad walked in for a drink one day. My mom was his waitress. They began talking. Even though my mom spoke very little English and my dad spoke very little Taiwanese, they enjoyed each other’s company and started dating.

My dad wined and dined her and showed her around the city she never explored. They dated for a little while before my dad had to return to the United States. My dad asked my mom to marry him, come to America with him, and start a new life. She really didn’t like her job and she grew up with very little opportunity, so she said okay.

They encountered many obstacles to get married. First of all, her parents didn’t allow them to get married because they were so young and didn’t know each other well. They weren’t going to let their daughter leave at 18 years old and move half way around the world with a guy she barely knew. But they begged and pleaded and finally my grandpa said that if my dad really loved her, he would go back to the U.S. and then return for her.

My dad went back to his country and during that time sent flowers, cards, and letters promising her that he would come back for her and to wait for him. My mom wasn’t certain he would be back, but sure enough one morning she woke up and he was sitting there next to her. She was overjoyed.

My dad went to her parents proudly and confidently asked for their daughter’s hand. To my parent’s surprise, they said no again. My dad was furious. He did what he was asked to do and the answer was still no. They begged and pleaded again and my grandparents finally allowed them to get married after my dad got a letter from home from his father proving that he came from a good family.

My parents went to the courthouse and my mom was excited, yet scared. She was about to leave everything she’d ever known to start a life with a man she just met. Despite her uncertainty, they got married. A big party was thrown afterward at a restaurant and my mom sat next to her mom and looked at her. My grandma’s eyes were heavy and her face looked chronically tired. Her hands looked like those of a much older woman because she worked so hard. That was a defining moment for my mom. She knew that if she didn’t leave, her mom’s life could possibly be her destiny.

My parents came to the United States with very little. They worked extremely hard for everything they have. Ten years later, they had their one and only child, me.

My speech was entitled “Against All Odds” because each one us came to be here through a variety of different circumstances and events. Various situations could have taken place or not taken place and you may not have been here. But you are here and that makes you special and it makes your life special. I believe that it also comes with an appreciation and a sense of gratitude as you reflect on how events had to unfold for you to be here. Many children could have been conceived, but you were the strongest; you were the winner.

Regardless of the circumstances that brought your life to existence, I urge you to be grateful today for the life you have. You have the opportunity to be grateful by living your best possible life. You can treat yourself with love and kindness. You can be gentle with yourself when you make a mistake. You can feed your body with healthy food that nourishes you, and you can challenge your body by physically pushing it to its limit. To me, all of these things are privileges.

You, like me, are here against all odds. Will you be grateful for your life and make a positive and healthy change today?

I would love to connect with you on my Facebook page.  Please come share what you are grateful for today!