I was only a sixth grader at the time of my departure, but the memories linger. Marshall Law was imposed in Poland when I was eight years old. At one point, there was a tank parked outside my home, with the gun barrel pointed toward my window.

My parents, highly educated and in visible roles in Warsaw, were active participants in the Solidarity Movement. My father was a professor of Bioelectronics at the Polytechnic University of Warsaw. My mother was an on-air radio personality when they became active in the movement and outspoken critics of the government's actions. After the government broke in and searched our home, it became apparent that it was time for us to flee.

The family fled after my parents divorced. My mother, sister and I left Poland, under the guise of a vacation and in the mode of European tourists, and relocated to the Canary Islands for a year. From there, it was a two-year stop in a refugee camp in Madrid, Spain, where I learned Spanish and became the camp's unofficial translator.

Meanwhile, my father moved to the United States and ended up in Cleveland, Ohio, repairing TVs and VCRs. He sent us money and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) loaned us the rest to pay for our flight to the United States.

While politics is a significant component of the story, being a political immigrant meant certain sacrifices. I left behind my life — twice. Having left Poland, I now left a life I found in Spain. After departing from Madrid, my mother, sister and I gained political asylum in the United States, arriving here at Christmas in 1988 and settling in New Jersey.

The economics of such changes are frightening. It is not easy to start a new life from scratch. After a few months on welfare, however, we became financially self-sufficient and resumed our lives. We moved to New York and I started to learn English while attending high school. Soon after, I made enough money to buy my first computer, something I dreamed of and wanted to do since my childhood.

Around the same time, my father moved to Silicon Valley. He now works for KLA-Tencor in San Jose. After not seeing him for years, I moved to the West Coast to live with him and completed my high school education. I went on to the University of California at Berkeley and graduated with Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Following Berkeley, I began work as an ASIC Consultant for Mentor Graphics Corp. while continuing my education with Stanford graduate coursework in electrical engineering.

For me, the Silicon Valley experience is truly that — an experience. I went from living in uncertainty in then communist Poland, to living in a cultural melting pot where new and different ideas are accepted and embraced. From a childhood perspective of brother fighting brother, I'm thrilled to see people from many diverse cultures working side by side. From being a political refugee and an immigrant who came here with nothing, I'm living the "American Dream," where dedication and hard work dictate how far one can go.

As for Poland, the Communists were ousted in 1989 proclaiming the end of Soviet control, leading to the end of the Cold War. Poland is once again an independent country, once more fully democratic, and is among the fastest growing European economies. I've been back only once, when I graduated from college and went backpacking through Europe, just like many other young Americans.

In closing, I firmly believes that although life might present unexpected hurdles, the carpe diem — or seize the day — attitude helps in getting ahead and overcoming all obstacles.