American Dream and Opportunities

The American Dream is an opportunity of freedom and success that results in a better lifestyle. I asked my father if I could interview him for this piece because I know he left Ireland for a reason. My father grew up in Northern Ireland with two brothers and one sister.  From middle school and on, my father knew what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to pursue a career in medicine and set goals to achieve them. After he graduated from Queens University at Belfast, he worked for the British National Health Service where he realized he did not want to pursue his original goal of being a family practitioner. Once realizing this, he reevaluated what he wanted to do and how he was going to do it. In Ireland, if he wanted to change his practice, he had to wait several years until someone retired in order to pursue another field of your desire. He soon realized that the United States would be the place where he could successfully go into the field he wanted, as quickly as he could. In the U.S., you can retrain in the field you want and go into your private practice much quicker than in Ireland. 

            Opportunities in the workforce was not the only reason my father decided to immigrate to the United States. At this time in Northern Ireland, it was the height of “The Troubles.” This was a time when the IRA, terrorist group wanting to unite Ireland, and the British government were fighting over Northern Ireland independence. Southern Ireland at this time was independent, so the IRA wanted to unite Ireland as a whole by bombing Belfast, assassinating policemen and Catholics. Alongside this, the UVF, Ulster Volunteer Force, were fighting the IRA because they did not want independence. The British government, in the meantime, were fighting both of these organizations for complete control. Realizing the struggles he faced as a Catholic, he did not want to raise a family around this environment.

Reflecting on all of the reasons why the United States would be the best option, he told his family the news. With complete support, my father traveled thousands of miles to Phoenix, Arizona to work at the Internal Medicine Residency. He worked there for three years where he met his wife. Here, my dad studied Gastroenterology and took the next step of his career in Pittsburg at the University of Pittsburg for two years. Soon after, my father was able to join a private practice in Seattle, Washington where he lived and will live for the rest of his life. When asking my father, “why Seattle?” His response was, “reminded me of home.” One of the last questions I asked my father was, “Was it hard leaving your family behind knowing how close you were to them?”He responded, “ You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your father was.” Words from a true Irishman. My father never stopped until he reached his goal in life.

Written By: Taylor Hinds