what $3.75/hour taught me about freedom

I was five years old when my family landed in the United States from Iran.

We left in 1985 in the middle of the Iraq-Iran war where a million people (mostly Iranians) died.

My dad was only 27 years old and my mom couldn't even get hired at McDonald's.

On top of that, we had no family here, no connections, no safety net.

My dad finally got a job as a shoe salesman making $3.75 an hour but the way he worked would’ve made you think he was racking in thousands.

I remember later on asking him once: "Dad, why did you work so hard for so little?"

He looked at me and said:

"Because $3.75 with our freedom is worth more than anything."

As a kid, I didn't really understand what he meant.

Now I do.

Freedom to choose, to build, to say no, to believe your effort matters, to wake up without fear of what the day might bring.

That's what he was talking about.

Not the hourly wage itself, but what that wage represented in a country where you actually get to keep it, build with it, and decide what comes next.

My parents made a sacrifice to give me that.

They left everything behind knowing they'd start from nothing.

They didn't complain about it, they just worked.

And they made sure I understood: we were lucky to be here, and that luck came with a responsibility to make something of it.

I think about that a lot, especially now.

Not everyone gets that opportunity or is brave enough to take it when they do.

And not everyone who takes it gets to see it work out the way my parents did.

But for those of us who did?

We owe it to the ones who took the risk, and to the ones still taking it.

My dad's $3.75/hour was worth so much more than the dollar value.

It’s given me a lifetime’s worth of gratitude and opportunity.

America isn't perfect (no single country ever is), but I am so grateful for the United States. I am proud to be an American.

The United States gave my parents a real shot, shaped who I became, and allowed my family to build something from nothing.

Not everyone gets that chance, but we did.

And for that, I'm grateful.

Happy 250! 🇺🇸

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