Im S.
Aran.
A leader, an idealist, a student, a
DREAMer.
My family brought me to the United States at the tender age of eleven. A country in which we had no immediate family, barely spoke the language, and had to work hard if we were to progress in life. These seemed like impossibilities back then; yet my parents reassured themselves that this sacrifice in their lives would be an investment and small price to pay in order to provide my brothers and I with a better life, greater opportunities, and hopes of a better future.
My first years in the United States were disastrous. I had no friends, could not grasp the material in any of my classes, and felt insecurity alone in a sea of kids who would constantly poke fun at the foreign child. However, as the years progressed I was able to turn those flaws into tools that would shape my character and habits for a successful future. I was no longer the insecure, quiet kid in the class; I found myself outgoing and doing better than most students in any of my classes.
I had come to love the beauty of the country, its history fascinated me, and the people were an improvement of what I known back home. Everything had an order, a set of rules and guidelines that just seemed to make everything work in harmony. The lifestyle was a habit by now, of course I always retained my culture and traditions.
By now High School had come and gone like a blink of an eye. I continued to put my heart and soul into my school work, while helping my parents at home, volunteering at the nearby hospital, and holding a job of my own. Needless to say I graduated within the top 15% of my class with honors, accepted with scholarship into various schools within my state, and with a solid and well-earned 3.5 GPA. My parents were so proud to see their investment finally growing and maturing. I was a High School graduate, and with college in my sight there was nothing to stop me.
The again, things were to turn bleak from there. Colleges said I was not qualified for in-state tuition. That my “status” would bar me from the scholarships I was eligible for, and that I would be considered an international student if I was to attend their institution. Depression quickly set in as I asked my parents what did we do wrong for me to be prevented from continuing my education? My parent also baffled looked back into the record to see what had gone wrong. We payed the fees, we came legally in the country, we waited, provided documentation, payed taxes,
abided by all the laws of the country; yet, due to a small yet uncorrectable mistake followed by poor immigration advising we found ourselves out of status. After nine long years of paying for renewals, case processing, and taxes we were deemed unacceptable for this country. How was that possible, or even remotely fair?
Anger and panic were the only two things I knew back then, and continue to experience on a daily basis. After living nine years of normality without worrying about a little piece of paper, I was now to flip my life around to be scared and insecure about being deported, having my family detained, not being able to accomplish my dreams. What would I have to do to be accepted in society? How could I help myself? Are there any others like me in similar positions?
In midst of renouncing my college education, the answer flew to me almost by accident in form of chit chat on a car ride to a friends house. It was late September 2007 when my friend mentioned “too bad Senator Kennedy’s CIR proposal failed, the DREAM Act provision of the bill would have solved your problems entirely. Now that I think about it, its almost tailored for you since you fit all the requirements perfectly”. He was right, almost immediately I went home and started researching, just to be astonished as to how many kids where in my same position. Juan Gomez alongside Janet Reno (Attorney General during the Clinton Era) were holding a conference in Miami that day. Upon meeting them, they informed me about the forums online and the active movement that they were carrying out in order to move the DREAM Act forward, and have massive awareness of its benefits.
Addiction. I was overwhelmed with activities, phone call, movements, through the Dream Act Portal. Religiously I would check for updates on the site in hopes of news or comments that would shed light for the upcoming 2008 year. Sleepless nights, new friends, more activism a whole new set of doors opened with me. That was until October rolled in.
The bill was introduced as a stand alone measure in the Senate. Falling 8 votes short of the 60 in order to proceed without filibuster, the bill was defeated. A sad day for
DREAMers across the nation.
A year has now gone by, and with the election of Barack Obama as our nation’s next president we are with high hopes that the bill will once again be resurrected. The movement has certainly grown a lot from what it was back in 2007. We have more alliances, more volunteers, bigger sites, and better strategies that will shed light and defeat any argument that the country needs
DREAMers as an educated base to provide change and a better opportunity for these students.
We are not seeking for money, take in-state tuition away. We are not seeking to rip off anyone in line, make a line for us. We are not seeking to break any laws, we have
abided by all the laws since we came to this country as children. All we want is a fighting chance, an opportunity to educate ourselves and serve the nation that we have grown in and come to know as the only home to us.
My hopes are high for the upcoming year. I have met so many people in the past month, and gathered support and love from all of those who believe not only in me but in
DREAMers as a whole. It is hard to look back and not believe that we cannot achieve our goal, as my goals alone seem clear to me now thanks to the support and love of a single individual that I pay much respect to every day of my life.
Thanks to her and many others, I am now on route to many bright things in my “uncertain” future. I believe, for once that this may actually come to pass and that one day we can all sit back and be proud of our efforts.
Currently I am involved with Dram Activist, a blog that serves as a household for all of those who support our cause. I would like to take this opportunity not only to inaugurate my blog, but to invite YOU the reader to embark on this journey with us, to help us achieve what we have worked so hard for. The DREAM Act is nothing short of an investment for this nation, and I along many bright minds are willing to spend the time to explain to you the benefits of said bill.
Feel free to visit us at the following links:
www.dreamactivist.orgwww.dreamact.infoAnd continue visiting this blog for updates and news as they develop.
Thank you for your time and cooperation.
Sincerely,
S.
Aran.
Posts
