“A number one with a large Coke and a side of fries.”
That was the order my mom always gave when she pulled up to the McDonald’s drive-thru when I was young. I asked her about it once, wondering whether she was just a major fan of the Big Mac or a creature of habit. But I soon found out, she wasn’t either.
My mom immigrated to the States from South Korea in her early twenties. Her family had left years earlier, and she was on her own. When she finally scraped together enough money to afford the trip, she arrived in Los Angeles with a few hundred dollars in her pocket and no one to contact.
She worked odd jobs for the first the couple of years, and McDonald’s became her haven for cheap food and fast service. She learned the basics of English in Korea, but she never had the confidence to order off the menu. She knew how to count to ten, though, and soon “Order Number One” became her staple.
“Man, I really got sick of Big Macs,” she said with a deep laugh.
This week, I interviewed Korean immigrants in Phoenix about the challenges they faced when they first moved to the US and the efforts to create a space of their own. It’s a story about immigrants, but it’s not an immigrant story. In its essence, it’s a story about resilience and how to solve a problem when a wall is placed in front of you.
I’ve shared my mom’s story a few times with the people I interviewed. Every time I did, I noticed a change in their demeanor. They’d nod their heads, relax their shoulders, and smile because they’ve been there too.
When I think back on my mom’s first years in America, I can’t help but wonder how she didn’t give up when the cards were stacked against her. Something as simple as a fast food order caused her to second guess herself, so how hard must it have been to file her taxes, pay bills, and purchase a home?
This story of problem-solving and resilience has represented my experience here as a Next Generation Fellow. My story has changed so much and transformed from its original pitch, which I sent to my mentor Jess Naudziunas two months ago.
With every challenge, she encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and tell a story in a way that I’ve never told it before. She told me to see obstacles as an opportunity to tell another story than the one I had in my mind. I’m glad I took her advice because I’ve learned so much from solving the problems that came my way rather than following through with the scripted course.
My mom now enjoys trying new things off the McDonald’s menu. She’s learned to adapt and overcome every obstacle placed in front of her. But through it all, she’s never lost her Korean identity. In the same way, I’m learning to hold tight to the reasons why I wanted to be a journalist in the first place. As my mom grows into her own as an American, I’m growing into my own as a journalist.
