In anticipation of the National Coming Out Week,  stories written and submitted by undocumented youth will be published daily. More stories shedding light on the experiences of DREAMers can be found here. Last week was just the beginning. The stories keep on coming! Stay tuned for more!

I entered the United States when I was one year old. My father and my uncles where already over here and had a house that was ready for us to live in. My aunts and all my little cousins traveled with a coyote across the border with my youngest uncle. My parents came to this country to give me the best future, to overachieve the expectations they had for themselves, and to become educated well-off immigrants in the USA. As our family grew, we put applications to receive the proper documentations. Time went by and all my aunts, uncles and cousins received their documents, only my father, my mother and I were left.  I finished elementary school in an arts academy with a bright future ahead. I finished middle school with honors and looked forward to a rewarding high school experience and awaiting to fill out my first college application. My junior year came by and I looked back at my 3.6 GPA, proud of my hard work. I took my first handful of college and scholarship applications home to fill out. Filling out my name, address, GPA was great; But, then I came to a stop when the space to insert my social security number and citizenship status. My hopes and dreams fell to the ground. I looked back at all my hard work and cried, because I felt it was then worth nothing. I looked to my sides and I saw how other students who slacked off all 4 years of high school were going to colleges, receiving financial add and give-away scholarships. I was mad. My graduation party came and I was hopeless, I decided I was going back to Mexico since my academic career had come to an end. Later, I was encouraged to fill out an application for my local community college in hopes of being accepted without much trouble.

So, I filled out the application and was accepted. I enrolled in a community college and paid my own class. Since I couldn’t “legally” work, I only had enough to pay for one English class. My dream has risen higher and higher…I am here with a purpose. Sometimes I feel like a bird that can fly so high but I am in a little cage that is waiting to be opened. I have so much to offer and give, but I can’t help to think that I can’t because I don’t reach certain requirements that our society demands. Now, I have turned all this sadness, anger, stress, uncertainty and disappointment into action!! I have asked God why he chose me to be undocumented millions of times and I always got one answer. “Because you can fight this battle and survive with victory!!” I believe in God and I believe in his promises. I won’t give up!