07/04/2025
Some of you may not know this about me, so I’ll share my story:
I was born in the Former Soviet Union (Belarus) and despite the medical malpractice which nearly caused me to die as a baby, I managed not only to survive but thrive!
In 1989, my parents decided to immigrate to the United States. We were refugees with no country for nearly a year. En route to the U.S., we temporarily lived in Italy for approximately 6 months. When we first arrived in the U.S., I did not speak a word of English. I had to repeat third grade in a new country with a new language.
Five years later, we became naturalized American citizens and I was speaking English fluently.
As a Jewish female, I am privileged to live in a country that doesn’t persecute me, and that gives me the freedoms so many women around the world unfortunately lack.
That is why on this Independence Day, I feel grateful and proud of being a citizen of the United States!
Let us never take freedom for granted and count our blessings, even in the midst of tumultuous times.
Happy 4th of July!