Perseverance by Nick Fredrick

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Born on July 19th, 1972, Malgorzata was raised by her mother and father in a small apartment in a town just outside of Warsaw, Poland. After graduating high school, Malgorzata decided to travel to Italy with one of her bestfriends. She lived in Italy for two years until she decided to come back and start school in Poland. Two years into college, one of her close friends convinced her to come to New York City for vacation. She made it to the United States in the summer of 1996. She was granted a visa because she went to school in Poland. She was also able to get a job at an Italian cafe because she taught herself Italian when she lived in Italy. Malgorzata’s closest friend, Dona, suggested that she should find a job in fashion because she loved the way Malgorzata styled herself. Luckily, Malgorzata and Dona were able to find her a job at a fashion company in the city. Here, she was paid very well for someone who was an immigrant and barely spoke English. She loved her job. She loved what she did everyday.

Arthur was born on April 4th, 1966 in the small town of Zielona Gora, Poland. While Arthur was in high school, a wave of communism grew across the country of Poland. Once Arthur graduated, he decided to leave his country and its corrupt political system and travel to Greece. After living in Greece for several months, Arthur was inspired to come to the US. He wanted a whole new start to his life, even with the liability of not knowing the language at all. Arthur entered the United States as a Polish refugee. He was granted a green card right away. In order to do more in this new country, Arthur needed to learn English. He went to school for 6 months to learn the language. The government was able to pay for his education because he classified as a refugee. A year after starting school, Arthur got his first job in a woodworking company. He soon found a slightly better paying job in delivering soda and beer in a truck. He was on welfare, which included food stamps, and only made five hundred dollars per month.

During Malgorzata’s first year of work, Dona suggested her to go out and party with her and her friends. They went out to a disco club in Greenpoint, NY. At the club, Dona introduced Malgorzata to a few of her friend’s friends. That night in 1997, my parents met for the first time. Malgorzata and Arthur fell quickly in love and moved in together a year later. They became married in 2000 and gave birth to me on November 3rd, 2000. After having me, my mother decided to quit her job in order to take care and spend more time with me. My dad picked up two extra jobs and my parents managed to save enough money to open up Grosik, a small Polish delicatessen in Greenpoint. Grosik has been kept running till this day. Throughout 18 years, Grosik has emerged as one of the most well known deli’s in Greenpoint.

My parents have been my role models since the day I was born. They are the epitome of perseverance. I’ve seen my parents persevere through many different challenges, and I’ve been fascinated by their characteristics all my life. My dad runs the Polish delicatessen in Queens, NY which is an hour away from our home in Westchester. I’ve witnessed my dad make an abundance of sacrifices in order to keep our family deli running. Anytime my family or the business runs into a problem, my dad is always there to fix anything in a heartbeat, no matter how tough the problem is. At home, I have my mom to demonstrate her perseverance as she’s constantly taking care of the house and our family. Because my mom was raised in Poland, she struggles in understanding and speaking English sometimes. It’s amazing to see the amount of people she knows with barely knowing the language. At the house, my mother is the most hardworking person I know. Whether the pipes burst in the wall, the basements flooding downstairs, or my dog hasn’t gone on his walk, my mom is always there to display her valued perseverance. My parents have shown perseverance all their lives and its led them to where they are now, and who me and my sister are today.