In three days, it would be the twelfth of July. Time seems to fly; it was just one year ago when we arrived to America. In three days, we would be celebrating our first anniversary. My dad received a call from my uncle who said that we would be going to Las Vegas on the 11th and 12th of July—coincidentally, our first anniversary.
I tried to convince all of my cousins to come with me so that I wouldn't be the only teenager in a group of only adults. However, my efforts were in vain as none of my cousins agreed to come with me. I was the only teenager. Las Vegas is known for its “21 and over” casinos, and my cousins only made things worse by telling me I wouldn't have fun since I'm under 21.
We rented a fifteen seater van and drove six hours to the Circus Circus hotel. I was bored playing carnival games and began regretting my decision to go to Las Vegas. It was not long until my attitude changed when we began to visit all the different casinos. Casinos such as Aria, The Cosmopolitan, Paris, Luxor, Mirage, Palazzo and MGM were shining with lights and the flowers were adding a beautiful aroma to our experience. The beautiful works of art, the extensive lighting, and the amazing architecture was so motivational. I discovered the real heaven on Earth. I was born and raised in India and had never imagined that such a beautiful and majestic place even existed.
Even though I was physically walking through the streets of Las Vegas, I was mentally in my dreams. I was dreaming of earning billions of dollars so that I could come to Las Vegas for a fifteen day vacation and live in one of the suites of the most luxurious hotel. I wanted to buy all the expensive clothes and the antique pieces to decorate my house with. I was on the ninth cloud of my dream until I abruptly came back to the reality that I am still a sixteen year old who has a lot of studying to do in order to earn those billions of dollars.
Soon thereafter, I made a commitment to myself that I would work extremely hard in order to be successful in the future. I took out my iTouch and wrote a note to myself saying, “Do it for Vegas.” I promised myself that I would push myself to work harder and whenever I would feel like giving up, to look back at this note for additional motivation.
In the end, I did not regret my decision to go to Las Vegas. If I had not gone, I never would have experienced that vision and thus become so motivated to push myself to become successful. It was the best decision I have ever made.
To all the people who believe that Las Vegas consists only of hotels and casinos: I want you to go there and dream of a big life just as I did.
“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.”
-Danny Kaye
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