My earliest memory of the United States was actually from TV shows. I used to love watching the Disney channel when I was growing up. I thought that America was such a great place because it was built by immigrants, and so anyone from anywhere could come to America and make a living and achieve their wildest dreams.

In high school, it definitely started hitting me really hard that I wasn’t like everyone else. I left like I didn’t fit in. I didn’t have the same opportunities that my friends had, like getting my drivers license. When I found out that I couldn’t get my license, it crushed me.