Hello, my name's Saleh Bin Yamin, I’m a Middle Eastern guy that is exploring the world. My story might be a little bit different from yours but isn’t everyone’s story a little different from ours? Here's my story.
I’m originally from Yemen, a desert country in the Middle East on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, bordered in the west by the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, in the north by Saudi Arabia and in the north east by Oman. I was born in Los Angeles, California, moved and was raised in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
For me, life was simple growing up even as a teenager and a young adult until I moved here to the United States. My father went through so much to give me the life he never had. Which basically means that this story's mostly about my father and the things he did for me. My dad didn’t get to finish college, he started working three jobs when he was a young man to help his family out. Then after a few years he met my mom and they got married but he was still working three jobs trying to make ends meet for him, his new family and my mom.
Everything changed on October 16, 1997, I was born. By then my dad found a job at a bank where he worked his way up to provide for his young family. As I grew up, my parents wanted the best for their children. They decided to put their kids in one of the best private schools they could afford to get the best education possible.
For the most part, I depended on my dad for everything; that’s when he realized that he may not be helping me to rely on my own wits. That was when everything started to change. He told me from now on “If you ever get in trouble, I want you to fix the problem AND then call me. If you call me before solving your problem, I won't help you at all.” That was a BIG wake up call. I realized I needed to start making decisions on my own and began experiencing the real world. My dad sent me to Orlando to earn my Bachelor’s degree and again a dose of reality hit me. All the responsibilities came at me all at once. I had to take care of paying rent, pay my car payment, insurance, maintenance and basically all the bills. I learned from this tough lesson and it made me into who I'm today. I’m grateful for what my dad has given and what he taught me.
Now, I've learned how to manage my time better. I work full time with my father, attend UCF full time and gain work experience at Intern Pursuit as a marketing intern. I plan to graduate in December of 2021 with my Bachelor’s degree in marketing. After that, I'll be looking for a full time job not sure yet where I'd want to work yet. My long term goals include to get as much work experience as possible save money and eventually start my own business.
My dad sacrificed to get me where I am today. He taught me how to be patient, grateful and depend on myself. There's a saying that "Nothing comes free." It boils down to we have to believe in our dreams, be patient for the outcome and work for the long term results. The benefits of learning how to be dependent and responsible include recognizing gratefulness and appreciation for the people that help you grow into adulthood.
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