My family left the Soviet Union in April of 1980. Our journey to the United States followed a path familiar to many. My parents brought our family to America for better opportunities. Much to their dismay, my life here has not been marked with extraordinary events and circumstances. At first glance, it's one of an ordinary woman, mother, wife, teacher, and citizen. It has, however, presented me a world much different from where I was born. Learning to mediate conflicting social, cultural, and political ecologies from a very young age has become my life's work.