“We will be together soon,” my mother said during a phone call. I never imagined I would leave my country of birth, the land where I spent a few of my childhood years. It was a big shock for my brother and I; we were too young to understand the reasons my mother had to leave everything behind. At some point I blamed her for separating us from my grandma, aunts and uncles, and cousins—whom we spent Christmas, New Years, and other holidays with.

It all seemed so surreal. The three years we lived with my grandma, I wished my mother would come pick me up from school by surprise, or come see me at my dance team practices, or even show up at my grandma’s place when we least expected it. When the opportunity arrived, I didn’t know how to react…. I yearned to see my mother, but I didn’t want to leave my family and friends. I had no choice: I was a minor, and that was it.

I remember the trip as if it were yesterday, although I don’t like to talk about it. I prayed to God that we would arrive quickly and safely, and we did. We saw our mother for the first time in almost four years, and our new baby sister who we only knew through pictures and who had recently turned one year old. At first, it was hard to get used to everything: the language, the diversity, the climate… but we managed to accomplish it.

I never really knew the implications of being undocumented until I reached my high school years when all my friends and fellow classmates began to get their driving permits and apply for jobs. Even then, I let none of that bring me down and I made my education top priority. When I began applying for college, however, I was put on the wait lists due to my legal status—even when my grades could have earned me a scholarship to an Ivy League college. Fortunately for me I was able to enroll at a community college and continue with my education, even though I have to pay out-of-state tuition rates.

My only desire is to graduate from college and obtain a degree in orthodontics. Not only would the DREAM Act change my life but also the lives of many people who find themselves in the same situation. I want to be able to help my parents and siblings, I want an opportunity to give something back to this nation; I want to become somebody useful in this society.

-Silvia