The Silent Struggles: Life as a Legal Immigrant in America | Arnavi Jain | TEDxHeritage HS Youth
What does it mean to “belong” when your story starts with paperwork, sacrifice, and silence? In this powerful TEDx talk, Arnavi Jain unpacks the overlooked struggles of legal immigrants in America, the ones who followed every rule, yet still feel like outsiders. Through personal storytelling and heartfelt reflection, she sheds light on the invisible weight of assimilation, identity, and generational expectation. This talk is a tribute to every child who grew up translating more than just language but emotion, culture, and dreams. Arnavi is a junior at Frisco Heritage High School. She wanted to become a TEDx speaker to bring attention to the struggles of legal immigrants as it is one of her biggest passions. Additionally, she strives to create an impact within her community and delivering a TEDx speech would provide her with the opportunity to develop her public speaking skills. By presenting a TEDx talk, she hopes to bring attention to some of these issues and address commonly asked questions such as “why don't you just become a citizen?” She aims to spread awareness regarding the myths of the American Dream that so many people come in search of. Besides the complexities of immigration, she is also passionate about STEM, being a part of her schools robotics team and engineering programs. After high school, she plans to go to college for computer engineering and business, to pursue a career in an aerospace firm. Beyond this, she hopes to travel and continue her public speaking and advocacy journey. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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