America - where all things are possible. This may just be another phrase to some, but notto him. Born in Baghdad, Iraq with no more than faith, he has gone against allodds to provide himself and his family with the best. I praise him for his willand strength to rise to the top in everything he does. His determinationsurpasses that of all I know. He is my father.

His drive to succeed ledhim to the United States. Ever since I can remember, nothing but the best hasbeen good enough for my father. Learning English as my second language was noexcuse for doing poorly. All my teachers criticized me, but my father stuck by meand never allowed me to fail. His will power rubbed off and I grew moreconfident. He taught me that if he could succeed, coming from much less than Ihad, I should be able to do anything with twice the force.

Many times hetook on the role of super-dad in our family, leaving for the city in a suit andtie and returning to mow the lawn and help finish the housework. He sat down withme after all of this to look over my homework to make sure there were no errors.He'd often say, "Lav, ema kuna mamen okna."

"Oh Dad, I'mtoo tired to help Mom," I'd protest. Taking off his glasses, I knew hewanted to sleep, but that was not an option for either of us.

Thereason I admire my father so much is because he pushed himself to the limits andeventually passed them. Learning five languages at once seemed impossible, but hedid it. Working day and night, he started as just another poor foreigner and nowhe is a businessman. He has set a foundation for me that all are not privilegedto have, and I admire him for that. He has given me all I need to blossom, andnow it is in my hands to do so.