I dreamed of dreams I never thought were possible. And the only way I did this was because I went after them.
The dreams I am about to share aren't because I am bragging; it’s because I did things my parents were hesitant to even think about doing. Why?
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Because I come from immigrant parents and my first job ever was being a translator 24/7 for 21 years. Because my older siblings were not qualified in applying for college or getting a driver’s license like their friends were doing, and everyone in my family had to be cautious of what they said around people for fear that they get sent back to our country.
Because they lost so much and gained so little. Because of this, I won’t feel sorry for following my dreams today.
Dream number one: I wanted to go to college. I was one of the kids on the block that didn't drop out of high school. I got in. I wasn’t the kid who earned great grades; I was an average student, but I had passion for the things that I wanted to go after. I met a lot of people along the way and gave thanks to each step I took. I'm still walking.
Dream number two: I wanted to travel. I stopped myself from applying to the study abroad program in my junior year of college because I knew my parents didn’t have enough money. I knew that money was needed for more important things. But this was important to me. The next year, I worked up the courage to ask. I applied. I got accepted. I worked my ass off that summer and said not enough thank you's with happy tears to my family. I traveled to Europe last fall.
Dream number three: I graduated college. This was a big deal because I did something mami and papi couldn’t. I did something others even my age still cannot do. So that piece of paper with my family name on it tells the world that I completed my dream of going to school doing what I love. This was my parents' dream when they made the choice to come here. I am a first-generation college graduate.
Dream number four: I am going for my Masters degree in the city that I always said I would end up. I went to New York City. This was also a risk as much as a dream. The New School was the only school I wanted to go to, the only school I applied to; NYU wasn’t an option like the rest of the world seems to think so. The New School was me. It's going to take me places I have yet checked off from my list. I am a graduate student.
Dream number five: I am growing. I was already grown when I learned the responsibilities a five-year-old can take because of the simple damn fact that I was born in the United States. But that time, I had to be grown for my parents. This time, I’m growing for me.
Some will call me and all of this "privileged," but I don’t have any money or reliable resources. They don't know what my kind of privilege is because they don't know my story.
I am though, privileged in what I was born with and what I was born into, because none of this wouldn’t have happened if the people I love the most hadn’t told me that living life was always more than living in fear. I have succeeded on my own with them by my side because they taught me to do exactly that.
For the ones who were born here with parents who weren't. The ones who never gave up because they had no choice. There is nothing wrong with following your dreams because you can. Where you come from only gives you more initiative to do so.
My last dream is the one I am happy and proud came true. Why all of this was possible for me to do and go for more because with dreams, you always need help.
Dream number infinity: My family became U.S citizens.
Stay humble y'all.
-A.
