Kirk Douglas Quotes

My parents are proud of their Indian heritage, but they came halfway across the world so their children could be born here, raised here as Americans. They came legally, but they came here in search of the American dream, in search of freedom and opportunity.

My parents leaving a third world country to a first world country and building from nothing - that's really inspiring to me and it's influenced me in a positive way.

I came to the United States in the early '80s and was welcomed with open arms and given the opportunity to pursue my dreams. God has been very kind to us. My family and I are fortunate enough to be successful and we feel a tremendous responsibility and obligation to give back to our great country.

For generations, people have come to U.S. shores to seek opportunity. It's what my grandfather did a century ago, when he came to Seattle, and worked as a houseboy just one mile from the Washington State governor's mansion that I was privileged to inhabit for eight years.

A lot of these guys come to America and baseball was their ticket to give their family a better life... They're incredibly grateful for the opportunity to play this game.

My parents fled from a Cuban dictatorship in search of freedom. Growing up, I saw my parents struggle... I am here today because of them. My success is their success. Their sacrifice and perseverance made my education possible.

I was blessed and lucky to have been given opportunity. I really thank my dad, Joe Ben Hudgens, for taking his time and adopting this kid from the Philippines, and gave him his future, and opportunities. Without him, I wouldn't be here.

It is America that gave me so much in my life. It wasn't until I came to America that my life just exploded in so many ways. So for me, I think in a way, though I'm English, I've been living the American Dream and I'm eternally grateful to Americans for allowing me to do what I love doing the most.

The fact that my parents got over to Canada is kind of amazing in and of itself. Had they not immigrated when I was a child, I probably would have never been doing what I'm doing. So, thanks, Canada!

Everything I have, my career, my success, my family, I owe to America.

My Dad used to tell us: 'En este pais, ustedes van a poder lograr todas las cosas que nosotros no pudimos' 'In this country, you will be able to accomplish all the things we never could.'

I really feel that my life story is a continuation of the Great American Dream - the immigrant who comes to this country and is allowed to excel. How many other countries would let me do that?

If you're lucky enough to be raised in a rich family, good. But learn how to respect that luck. It's not a given, you know? It's not like, 'Well, it's normal'. No, it's not normal. It's lucky.

If that many people recognize how hard I go every night and what I put into my game, to make myself and my team better, it means a lot to mean. I'm fortunate; I'm blessed to be in the situation that I'm in right now.

I owe my success to my two families. If my father hadn't been willing to make sacrifices for me, I would have never won the role on 'Everybody Hates Chris'. I like working with my television family, too. We have a lot of love for each other.

My parents immigrated to the United States with $10 in their pocket and a belief that the America they had heard about really did exist as the land of opportunity.

I loved my mother and father.

Coming from an African background, obviously the foundation of the family home is education, probably because my parents had to work a lot harder for everything that they've got in this country.

I am a legal immigrant whose parents went from Russia to China to Chile to finally reach the United States and thereby give me a chance to have a better life. I served six years in the U.S. Army Reserve, went to college, have a successful career and have dedicated my life to being a good citizen.

As you know, I'm an immigrant. I came over here as an immigrant, and what gave me the opportunities, what made me to be here today, is the open arms of Americans. I have been received. I have been adopted by America.

My parents, fleeing a repressive regime in the Dominican Republic, were embraced by this country and taught us to love it in return. After my father served proudly in the U.S. Army, they settled in Buffalo, N.Y., and were able to live the American Dream.

I've inherited a sense of that loss from my parents because it was so palpable all the time while I was growing up, the sense of what my parents had sacrificed in moving to the United States, and yet at the same time, building a life here and all that that entailed.

In grade school I was taught that the United States is a melting pot. People from all over the world come here for freedom and to pursue a better life. They arrive with next to nothing, work incredibly hard, learn a new language and new customs, and in a generation they become an integral part of our amazing nation.

We all should be proud of the United States. For those of us that came from the Dominican, we've been able to come here, work, make money and become somebody in our lives. We've gotten a huge opportunity from the U.S.

My wife is the most wonderful woman in the world, and my parents are the most extraordinary father and mother.