23 Years & A Dream

Read Time: 3 Minutes

Could you wait 23 years for your dream to come true?

My Aunt Sue & Uncle Roger did.

I was in Texas visiting family this past weekend and had the pleasure of spending an evening with them…

On property that they bought in 1998…

In a home that wasn’t finished until 2021.

In between, they weathered the dot-com bubble, the Great Recession, getting sued by a Fortune 500 company, and countless other obstacles.

And yet, through it all, they not only resisted the urge to sell off the property, my Uncle Roger spent over a decade driving up to their property on weekends to blaze walking paths through the bushes and trees, to learn about the vegetation on the land, and to visualize exactly how and where each room of the house would be constructed.

Even after all that, and 20 years after they first bought the property, Aunt Sue and Uncle Roger still had a moment of doubt before the decision to finally begin building the house.

In fact, they actually agreed to sell the property first.

But within a week, they looked each other in the eye, said we’ve come this far and we’re not stopping now.

This past weekend, as I walked through their marble entryway and was immediately captivated by floor-to-ceiling windows showing off their backyard garden, their faithfulness, resolve, and courage were as impressive as any single feature of the home itself.

It’s those qualities that also impress me most about the international students that I work with.

That’s not to say there isn’t a lot to be impressed with.

Most international students are far more fluent that I could have ever hoped to be in a foreign language (even after 5 years studying Spanish in high school and university).

Many international students have a very sophisticated understanding of the federal regulations that they must adhere to, and an even deeper grasp of the different visa options post-graduation.

But EVERY international student, at some point, has summoned the courage to leave their friends and family and start a new life halfway around the world.

My hope for each of you is that, however long it took you to get here, your experience is just as rewarding as it was for my aunt & uncle to share their dream home with us over the weekend.

And if you need any help along the way, I’m right here for you.

I have a list of ways that I help listed below, but you have a special place in my heart- you could do literally anything with your time, but you choose to spend a couple minutes a week reading this. So if there’s any questions you have, anything you want to see more of in this newsletter, or if you just want to say ‘hi’, hit that Reply button and let’s chat.

Also, stay tuned- I have my own ‘dream home’ for international students under construction at the moment.

I can’t wait to share it with you all.

Until then,

Live Your American Dream ™

Josh

Whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help:

1. Follow me on LinkedIn. I post about international student related content, so hit that Follow button if you haven’t already (or, even better, hit Connect!).

2. The Complete Post-Graduation Masterclass Series. Learn the tips & strategies that have helped over 3,000 international students get approved for OPT/STEM OPT, over 1,500 get approved for H1B work visas, and over 400 get approved for green cards. Important Note: this series is only going to be available as a stand-alone service for a few more weeks, so better jump at the opportunity to get it now!

3. Individualized Support. Dive right in and check out my Services page to learn how we can work with each other 1:1

4. Still not sure? Send me a DM or email me at [email protected] with a brief overview of your situation and I'll explain the options for how I can help you. (Or you can book that free call!)