In 1986, when the Asian Games were held in Korea, I immigrated to America at the young age of twenty-one.

At that time, it felt like a new world was about to unfold before me, just like a scene from a movie. But now, as I look back at that time in my sixties, my feelings are complex.

Many people came before me, and many came after, but the hopes and fears we all carried were likely not so different.

During my time in Korea, when the neighborhood elders gathered, they would often say, "I heard that son from that house went to study in America," or "Their daughter immigrated," mixing envy and admiration in their conversations.

At that time, America seemed to me like a land of endless opportunities. Spacious homes, children studying freely, a wealthy country where cars were a part of everyday life.

But when I actually arrived, it was beautiful from afar, yet felt like a butterfly that kept eluding my grasp.

In the 1980s, Korea was still plagued by poverty and insecurity, and the smell of tear gas lingered in the streets.

There were always protests under the shadow of dictatorship, and people lived breathing in suffocating air. So, I hoped that when my children were born, they would be educated in a broader and freer world, not in such a place.

I also wanted to experience a new life myself. Then, due to a decision made by my father, our whole family set off to immigrate to America.

On the day I packed our immigration bags at the airport, the heavy trunk contained not just clothes but also the weight of expectations and anxieties. Looking out the airplane window, I asked myself, "Is this really my destiny?"

The first moment I set foot on American soil is still vivid in my memory. I couldn't speak a word of English and had to gesture to the airport staff to ask for directions, and I remember sweating profusely at the supermarket checkout, unable to understand what was being said.

After getting married, my husband worked while I ran a small store in the local mall, living each day diligently. I was robbed twice while going to the bank and faced many unjust losses.

But even amidst all that, I felt relieved seeing my children speak freely in English. "Yes, this is why I immigrated." I realized that it was not my dream, but my children's future that was ultimately the greatest purpose of our immigration.

Sometimes I wonder. If I had stayed in Korea, what kind of life would I be living now?

Would I have aged in the same neighborhood with friends I grew up with, sharing small stories, or would I have wandered in search of another path?

Life is always a series of choices, but some choices feel like paths that were waiting for us.

At the moment I set foot on American soil, I strangely murmured to myself, "Ah, this is my destiny."

Of course, that destiny was not sweet. But even those difficult days ultimately made me stronger.

My peers all had different stories, but our hopes were the same.

Some came for their children's education, some in search of business opportunities, and others simply wanting a new life. Whatever the reason, what ultimately drove us was the earnest desire to ensure that "my child lives a better life than I did." That hope brought us across the Pacific to this unfamiliar land.

Looking back now, the path of immigration was never easy, but it was not in vain.

If someone asks me what I have achieved, I would say that I am not a wealthy person and have no remarkable achievements, but just seeing my family put down roots in this land and my children confidently walking their own paths is enough.

That is what I hoped to achieve by immigrating to America, and ultimately, what I have accomplished.

My mother always said, "Your destiny is what you make of it.

But the path that comes before you is also your fate." Looking back, it is a curious saying. Destiny and fate seemed different yet similar.

Perhaps my immigration was my destiny, but the countless people and experiences I encountered along the way were undoubtedly fate.

Now, in my sixties, I live each day with gratitude rather than grand dreams. I have gained and lost things in America, but ultimately, I discovered another version of my life.

So if someone asks me, I would answer like this.

"What we hoped to achieve by immigrating to America was ultimately our children's future, and whether it was destiny or fate, it was the path that brought us here."