It’s All a Matter of Perspective. ~ Nadya Melton

Christmas in Russia- My Perspective

It’s New Year’s Eve… I am so excited to wake up early in the morning and run to the Christmas tree to see what Grandfather Frost (Russian Santa Claus) brought for my sister and me. I remember one year specifically we were so excited because we each got 2 mandarin oranges, a handful of chocolate candies and 3 apples. This was the highlight of the holidays.

If I am having a bad day, I think about my humble beginnings, how little I had growing up in Russia and how thankful I am today for the life that I have.

Growing up during the Socialism era in Russia meant scarcity of everything. Of course when this is all you know, you appreciate every little thing. I remember we would go to the store for food, and a lot of times the shelves would be empty. In school, we were taught how lucky we were to live in the greatest and largest country in the world. We were trained to respect and honor the leadership and to appreciate all that we have.

I learned to be resourceful from an early age. Since there was no luxury of buying groceries in the stores, every family had a summer house where they would grow all the vegetables to provide for the family. I spent every summer with my grandparents growing vegetables, some berries, and fruit and raising chickens. I had the best childhood. I learned how to fish, how to sew, how to cook, how to make the best of the resources that we had.

My dad was the entrepreneur in the family. I saw him constantly challenge the status quo. He ventured out into the scary world of business ownership. It is scary to begin with, but in Russia there are additional obstacles to deal with like the mafia. My mom supported my dad by doing all his paperwork and being the best mom for my sister and me. I watched her take care of the household. She trained us to respect what we had, to work with a spirit of excellence, to take care of the house and the people around us.

In Russia, education is taken very seriously. I remember we would have 14-16 subjects to study in our higher grades. There was no such thing as a choice. There was only a must. I was a part of the class with concentration in physics and math. My parents also enrolled me into a music school at the age of 6. I graduated with honors at the age of 15.

I remember when the borders were opened back in 1995. Now there were opportunities to see other parts of the world. My dad asked me if I wanted to go to the United States to study. I for sure thought he was kidding. I thought to myself, if I go to America, I would love to go to Florida, California or New York. From what we saw on TV, America was the land of opportunity. Everything was possible.

My Life changes forever and my perspective too!

I remember getting a call from the company that organized the Student-Exchange Program, to tell me that a family from Indiana picked me. A few months later, I landed in Indianapolis, IN and my life-changing journey began. I was so blessed with my host family. I consider them my American family today.

Now that I am a mom, I have a new appreciation for my parent’s bravery. They knew that moving to America would open up unlimited opportunities for me and they had to sacrifice their quality of life in order to make it happen. I have no idea how my mom did it. There was no internet back then and cost to call was crazy high. I would write a letter and a month later, my mom would get it. It sure would have been much easier if we had Skype and Facebook to stay in touch.

I will never forget the first time I went into the grocery store. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the abundance of fruits and vegetables.

The best part was I could buy it. I could not stop eating! The things that were a luxury to me in Russia like bananas and mandarin oranges were no big deal here in the US. It still shocks me that my kids say no to bananas. If I was asked, “would you like a banana in Russia?” the answer would always be YES!!!

I hardly remember my first 4 months as my English was very poor. I could put sentences together but I didn’t have the vocabulary. My host family had to put me in a private school since the public school refused to accept me as a senior at the age of 16. I remember we went to meet the principal who gave me a Calculus book and a Physics book to see where my education was. I already knew 2/3 of the material to be covered at the senior level. I graduated from the American High school, flew back home, took 13 exams to graduate from Russian high school as well.

My dad brought me back to the States a few months later to help me settle in and ready for college. I remember just like yesterday I could not stop crying because he had to go back. It was so tough. I just had to do what I had to do. My mission was to graduate in a hurry and since my parents were paying for my education there was no time to waste. After 3 years, I graduated with an International Business Degree and at the age of 19 I was ready to take on the business world.

Giving back to my family.

I worked really hard for 10 years in order to afford the opportunity to move my family here. There were times when I wanted to give up. Things get tough, right? I kept on going. Click to tweet I just could not give up on my family. There is no better feeling than to give back to those who are the closest to you.

A lot of times bad things happen in our lives and I find that it all is a matter of perspective. It’s not what happens to us that determines the direction of our lives. It’s how we translate what happens. When I was going through the hard times, I would focus my mind on what I was thankful for and remind myself to look for solutions. Focus on what you are grateful for. Where your focus goes, your energy goes.

To find out more about Nadya’s Stop Chasing, Start Attracting approach to Business Branding, visit www.NadyaMelton.com

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