That feeling of leaving his parents in the Philippines to go with a stranger when he was 12 is really unfortunate, but his mother was watching with her best interests mind. She just wanted her son to have a taste of the American dream and have a better life in America rather than suffer with her in the Philippines. Vargas' essay moves the reader emotionally as he explains when he finally managed to achieve the highest honor in journalism, but his grandmother was still worried about him being deported. He wanted Vargas to stay under the radar and find a way to get another chance to achieve his American dream of existing