Like the many young adults in my situation, I too came here at a young age. Born in a foreign country, my mom, chose to migrate, to America, for a better opportunity. I quickly adapted to American life and culture. I continued to excel in high school, graduating with a 3.57 GPA, with high honors. I walked, talked, and looked like your average 18 yr old, high school senior. The only difference was that everybody’s lives would probably progress at a faster rate after high school graduation. A piece of paper, a card, a nine digit number, one of the few things, that blocked me from reaching my dream. I aspire to become a nurse, specializing in forensic science. My quest for higher education, has come to a halt, due to my legal status.
I may have complained about my situation, at times, feeling frustrated, helpless, disappointed. But as of now, I have passed that phase in my life. I continue to live life, as normal as I can, although to the majority of the kids, in my age group, they could not even fathom, what myself and my fellow dreamers go through. Some of us live in fear; of getting caught, of getting pulled over by a cop and not being able to show them a license because we cannot obtain one, wondering how we are going to pay for next semester’s tuition, wondering if we would still have this job next month, if we should take next semester off because we don’t have money, obviously we cant ask the Govt for aid, aware that we should be helping our parents more but are incapable of, wondering what our next move is after we receive that degree. That’s all normal to us, and most of us face those fears everyday. I take it all in stride, day by day, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. My morals, values and keeping a strong faith keeps me level headed. I truly believe if God, didn’t think I could overcome this obstacle, then I wouldn’t be in this predicament.
I never asked to be accepted to a prestigious school, I never asked to live in a dorm, join a frat, party till the wee hours of the morning, with my college buddies. I never even asked for a full-ride scholarship, I never asked for a fancy car, to show off to my friends. What I desperately want is a chance to showcase my skills, and graduate college with a degree that I can be proud of. Then turnaround and take that degree and apply it to my future career. As weird as it sounds I want to be normal, I’m not asking for a handout, but what I am asking for is chance to compete with the others, make it a level playing field. I know I can succeed if given a chance.
