Country of Origin: Mexico
Age of Arrival: 12 years old
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Degree: Psychology
I love the United States. When I first arrived with my family, in 2000, I was 12 about to turn 13. I remember seeing the American flag waving in the air. Somehow within me I knew this was home.
Within that first year, I became comfortable. I used to talk to cousins back in Mexico and they would ask and still ask, “Would you come back to live here?” And I would respond, no. I love the U.S. It’s important for me to remain here because this is where I have grown up now more than half of my life. America is most of what I know. I have been influenced not only by the culture, but more specifically, by what our Pledge of Allegiance declares…”One Nation, Under God, Indivisible.”
I am proud of my Mexican heritage, but I am also proud of calling the U.S. my home. I know how proud every American is for being an American, and I am proud of being here and feeling and counting myself as an American. When I’m at the ball game and hear the lyrics to “God bless America,” I tear up. I truly pray the lyrics of the song as this is the nation I love and am so proud to call home, even though it has not been easy.
It wasn’t until the last year in high school, when some of my friends began getting driver’s licenses and applying for college, that I realized the true meaning of being undocumented and how that status affected my life. It was depressing, it made me sad, it made me scared, it made me feel inadequate, and it even made me feel undeserving. Still, I had no choice but to keep on going. When DACA came about, and I applied and got accepted, all those feelings faded, and a new hope was born.
DACA has given me peace of mind. Through it, I was able to get a more stable job, pay rent and buy my first vehicle to drive me to work. Not only that, but I was able to return to school through the provision of a scholarship. I plan to finish college and either work with a nonprofit that is targeted towards helping youth. Or, maybe I’ll work at a high school and be a counselor. That’s why I chose to major in psychology. I also want to continue volunteering with programs that mentor and help teens, especially girls. This is an issue dear to my heart.
DACA is important not just for us DREAMers but for America, as all benefit from allowing DREAMers into the workforce and providing service to the nation; a service that we feel privileged and honored to present. Since we are not natural born citizens of the United States, us DREAMers know that we are not entitled to anything that America provides. But, because of that truth, we strive and work hard to obtain what we desire by proving that we are trustworthy to carry the same allegiance to a nation that some were just naturally born into.
I don’t want you to have pity on me, as it is difficult to try to understand and share what I have gone through, especially if you have never experienced it. All I ask is that you see me. See the potential in me. See the hope in me. See the passion in me. Allow the fruit of my success after DACA to be a key that influences the foundation of your decisions about it. Would you be compassionate? Would you be merciful? Would you be forgiving? Would you be kind? Would you be loving?
We need each other. United is the only way we, as Americans, will succeed. Give us a chance, let us show you that when we are given an opportunity, we make the most of it. Why? Because America was not given to us. We DREAMers must earn it, through our hard work.
It truly is a privilege to be able to be here and I am grateful to call America my home.