The Cambodian Dream

By Vothy Uy

            As a kid growing up I always dream of being in the NBA. I loved the game of basketball and everyday i would workout and practice just so i could be good enough to play one day. That was one of many dreams I had, but sometimes dreams don’t always workout in your favor. That was ok with me I grew to be only 5’9 and couldn’t make the basketball team in high school. I had to put basketball on hold for a while and chose to follow another dream I had which was music.

I love to sing and write music with my friends, I love it so much that I started recording actual songs and putting them out on the internet. Although I’ve only been making music for a year now I want to pursue it and be famous one day for the music I make. I feel like this is an outlet for me because it can open so many doors for me especially for my family. At a young age in my life my family weren’t really wealthy, it was a hard time for us trying to make ends meet. When my grandparents came to America from Cambodia, they came with nothing but themselves and their children.

My grandma has nine kids who she brought back to the states with her from Cambodia, they had a hard start when they got to the united states. When i was born they were at a decent level when it came to money. Something that I will always remember is all the stories my grandfather would tell me about the wars in Cambodia he was in. Those stories were amazing and ever since that I always wanted to visit Cambodia. Another dream I have is to give back to Cambodia. Even though i don’t know much about my heritage and there is so much to learn and know, I just want to show them that I care for them.

By that I mean when I am more successful I will want to build a school for them out there that teaches English and more. Being Cambodian and being around others showed me all the character our parents put in us, some parents came straight from Cambodia and some were born here in the states but that didn’t hide the glow that Cambodia had on them. We have so much pride and it’s amazing how we show it off and are so proud to be it. My dream is to just give back I don’t even want anything in return, so when I make it to where I want to be I will build a school in honor of my grandparents. Although dreams are hard to achieve i know that all the hard work and dedication will pull off and things will happen.

My first two dreams I talked about well only one of them won’t happen because it’s too late but with my music I will influence the people all over the world. Maybe I will have a concert in Cambodia too that’s how serious I am about this music thing. Another dream I have is to take my grandma and grandpa on vacation to Cambodia. I want to experience it with them because they know so much about it and it would be nice to bring them back to their homeland. Dreams are meant to be achieved and one day I will achieve these dreams, all the hard work and dedication that is put into the dream will show and it will happen. I hope that I make this dream come true and I won’t stop until they are met. This is the Cambodian Dream!