“I’m leaving this country because of your shortcomings, Ege. I would stay for my children, had you not failed your responsibilities owed to me for letting you be born here. You are me, not Ege Ulusoy. You aren’t an American; you aren’t a Turkish person who assimilated to the American lifestyle; the only thing you are is a useless son whose dreams are too big. I didn’t bring you here so you could live an American life, and I don’t care if that’s what you want because it’s my decision. You have not listened for the last 10 years, so I don’t expect it will change now. I will leave you to rot here because of your disrespect.” My father chided me during an argument he had with me. It’s my last memory of him before he left for Turkey right after my middle school graduation. I lived alone with my older brother between freshman and junior year. The change in my character during those years prepared me for what was to come. Those years taught me skills and lessons that no one could teach. I was born in 2007 in Queens, New York, after my parents had immigrated to the United States. At the time I was a few months old, we moved back to Turkey so I could become fluent in the language. My parents’ whole life is based on traditional Turkish values of devoting oneself to family life. My brother and I were labor slaves to serve our father’s best interest. My mother was a loyal servant to the monster that beat her for years, even when she was pregnant. We’ve lived a life of sacrifice to serve my father, for promises of return that never came to fruition. My older brother lost the opportunity to go to college. My mother didn’t see her family for two decades. That will not be me. Eventually, my parents returned after leaving me home alone for three years. Lies of reconciliation brought them back to America together, but month by month he got worse. It took until my mother’s neck was being strangled before I chose to act. The police came, a report was taken, and everyone in the house was kicked out by him. We moved into our own apartment shortly after. Rent is difficult to put together with my brother, but I do it because that beast expects me to give up and plead to him. That will not be me. Nevertheless, I have continued throughout my life as a top student in my class, striving to reach the top. Learning enthralls me, so I take the most challenging classes I can to satisfy my natural curiosity, often to the confusion of many. The reasoning is simple: it’s captivating to be met with a topic I’ve never thought about before rather than one I’ve thought about a hundred times over. To me, college will not just be a new experience in my life as it will be to my peers. It’s a salvation from a life of oppression. Others will no longer bear the burden of needing to take care of me, and instead I will take care of people with my passion to pursue the medical field. Aiding people hurt by the violence committed by their own family motivates me. Each pen stroke, note written, and test taken is a step to becoming the man that helps the little boys and girls who were born with a violent parent. That will be me.