Andrea Vavrinek in the Czech Republic.
…to be a first generation American
My parents immigrated to the U.S. from the Czech Republic in the early 2000s in order to help give their children better opportunities, and a better future. They worked hard to have a better life than they did in Czech.
It was normal for people to grow up in their small towns, graduate high school, possibly go into another big city during their younger years, but then move back to the same town they were raised in to settle down and live the rest of their life.
My parents didn’t want that for us because they said they felt trapped there and they wanted us to be able to accomplish bigger and better things, which they knew from our travels in the US they would be able to have here in America.
I know they moved here for us and I know that it would have been a lot easier for them to raise us in Czech. I admire their perseverance, being raised here gives me independence from a young age. For example, having to figure out schoolwork or the college process because neither of them attended college or went to an American High School.
Having my whole family across the ocean on the other side of the world isn’t exactly easy either. Especially because it’s just me, my dad, my mom and my two siblings here in America. The rest are all in Czech.
I always had to figure things out myself and as much as my parents did help me or tried to help me, I understood that that wasn’t always possible. That helped make me become a leader and that gave me leadership qualities. I had this sort of responsibility from a young age to help guide my parents to cultural norms and language barriers.
I’m excited for my children who will have parents who speak perfect English and know the cultural norm, understand that having traditional Czech lunches are frowned upon by innocent third graders and to think Uncrustables and mac and cheese are the way to go.
Growing up in the middle of two cultures made me who I am. I was always struggling with fitting in here in America or when I went to school in Czech, or even just visiting and making friends there, made it difficult to see who I was. But in the end, I realized I could make a whole new person being both and using both to my advantage.
Having the knowledge from being a Czech American gives me a wider worldview, and it makes me aware of things I know some people just won’t ever understand. — Andrea Vavrinek
I’ve seen how people have been in Czech with their morals values and I’ve seen how they learn and I’ve seen what they do with their lives. Then I’ve seen it here in America, and I’m fortunate to take both of those into account and become who I want to be based on what I’ve seen.
I may have had a little difficulty growing up split between the two not always knowing where I fit in, but my parents had endured through much worse and I admire them for that. I mean, not many people even know where Czech Republic is. You’d be surprised at the amount of people that asked me if Czech is a city in Russia, which it is not.
I may have had it hard in some areas but I would say the benefits outweigh any negatives. I want to thank my parents for all their hard work. They raised three kids in the country they didn’t know much about. They didn’t even know the language, their sacrifices paved the road for me and that makes me eternally grateful and without them, I wouldn’t have the opportunities I have lined up for me today