Failure

By my standards I am failure. Simple as that. Yes I graduated top 3% of my high school class. With multiple awards. If time transgress as it should I will graduate with a BSE Mechanical Engineering degree from ASU. Yet, I still feel like a failure. Maybe its because I expect the best and when I don't accomplish it kills me.

To my DREAMers

The deadline to pass the DREAM Act is on January 5th. Harry Reid is
the majority leader in the senate, hence, it is up to him to bring the
DREAM Act for a vote. His numbers are; 775-686-5750, 202-224-3542,
775-882-REID (7343), 702-388-5020. For all of us, the DREAM Act is
ultimately, the only solution to our situation. We can go on
pretending we are normal college students, normal people, and that
education will set us free. Reality is knocking, and its ready to kick
you in the face. WE are your typical student, not we will never be. I
know all of us are afraid. Just by the look at our faces, by the way
we communicate. We have an opportunity to be a part of something
grand, bigger than our miserable little lives.

January 5th will come, the decision of our lives will be there. We
have to choose, either to wait or we act. We maybe be young foolish
adults, with no rational sense. See, but that's what makes us great,
our fearless nature to take up obstacles without hesitation, without
the thought of failure creeping up on us. Once, we ADF scholars
graduate then what? Go back to Mexico? Take a low paying job? Not
exercise our diploma that we spent countless hours to achieve? Our
parents left our home countries for a reason; violence, drugs,
poverty, you name it. What return to that unknown land with a degree
in your hand, and you think you will succeed. America is our home. So
lets fight for the DREAM Act, call all four of Senator's Harry Reid's
offices everyday until October 6th.

For if you are looking for a person to blame for your misfortunes, you
only need to look in a mirror. I know why we choose to be anonymous.
We are afraid. When we referred to DREAMers we say, them or they,
instead of I and me. Time does not wait for you to decide, it will
come, whether you are a part of the struggle or not. It will come,
don't be fooled. If the DREAM Act passes, or if it dies like it has in
the past, the sun will still rise.

Ask yourself what type of person am I; the person who will take a
stand, fight for my dreams upon insurmountable odds, and in all
likelihood failure, or the person who will sit. The things that matter
in life, take sacrifice, courage, tienes que ser atrevido. I know you
will most likely ignore this email, and it doesn't matter to me, fight
for yourself, don't fight for anyone else, fight for yourself. The
DREAM Act struggle is an opportunity to test your character.

PS. No one is that busy no take 30 minutes of your day to make four
calls, so stop lying. Either accept the truth or stop crying!!!!!!!!!

I am Chicano

I am Joaquín, lost in a world of confusion, 
caught up in the whirl of a gringo society, 
confused by the rules, scorned by attitudes, 
suppressed by manipulation, and destroyed by modern society.

These words are engraved in my skull, not through historical text, but through experience. One needs not to look into the historical textbooks for slavery, for oppression, for systematic inferiority of people; one only needs to observe the world around us. Slavery has adapted to the 21^st century. No longer are blacks exploited in the fields of Virginia, no longer are blacks hung from light posts, but the brown skin people in the Fresno Strawberry fields are still there, working under inhuman conditions. 

I am lost torn between the atrocious events of the past perpetuated on my people, the slaughter of my kin, the exploitation of my fathers, mothers, brothers and the realization that I love America. I am a new breed of people, I am Chicano. Chicano entitles a person of moral conscious as well as a human being who is willing to forgive the past. We as Mechistas need to move the nation in the right direction, instead of blaming the decedents of the Anglo for past events we need to unite the people. We Chicanos bleed, cry, love the same way as Blacks, as Asians as Anglos, we are all part of the human race.

What exactly means to be Chicano? Is it a nationality, cultural, or ethnicity issue? I know some generalize Mexican-Americans as Chicanos, while others derive the word for Mechica ancestry, to me the word goes beyond any cultural, it’s so much greater than just a nation or an ethnicity. Chicano is an idea of person who fights against injustices where ever they may arrive, morally. Not by the code implemented by the mainstream media, but by his/her values, a Chicano is not willing, nor should he compromise his pledge to the world.

We live in tumultuous times, where morality, justice, fairness, courage are taken as words, but to a Chicano they are perspectives. We act on our convictions; we face the challenge straight on using or mind and bodies in unity. A Chicano loves mother Earth, for she has given us life, given us the ability to love, given us the ability to think, she has provide the tools to mold the world as he see fit. A Chicano must always remember his past, but live with no anger, guilt, or reproaches for the past, we must live here and now. The past can’t be change. The Future is on our hands. Chicanos unite as one, for a long and arduous battle for justice awaits us.  

October 4, 2010

“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.”  I am a history geek. I love knowledge, it is an intrinsic good. The future will never be, the present is instantaneous, and the past is gone.  I don’t understand the physical laws governing time, not do I pretend to, but I wish to endeavor myself in the near future. I once heard that time is simultaneously, the future is already written, that as we see past events, we are reliving them, and that the future is just for our conscious self to experience. Similar to observing the stars, we see them as they were hundreds of millions of years ago, but to us they seem to at a present time.

                If time is simultaneous then how can we alter our future, if it has already happened? Are we powerless in an internal struggle between nature and deity, or the concept is just beyond our understanding? I choose none. I believe that we are the master of our own domain. We choose how we wish to live, we are free. Being free implies responsibility, responsibility leads to morality, and when morals are in action then we can love without any regret.

                This brings me to the DREAM Act, and its current situation. We dreamers are in limbo, between reality and dreams. As of now, we are a political afterthought. After, screaming so loudly, we have nothing to say, we as silent as the darkness October night. All we have is our pride intact. We left it all out for the Defense Authorization Bill Cloture vote. The sleepless nights, the tireless hours of work, all for nothing, all those planning to be left in the same place where we were a year ago?

                Barak Obama isn’t considering the DREAM Act as top priority for the lame duck session, the latest news from the white house. I still never then Presidential hopeful Barak Obama promising DREAM nation the passage of said bill in his first 100 days.

So what now? A slight possibility still exists in the lame duck session.  Three democratic senate seats will change the political landscape, this upcoming midterm election. The truth is the DREAM Act depends on public opinion; we don’t have the financial means to back up us, nor the political muscle to pass a bill. The passage of the DREAM Act rests on the will of the people, as the founders intended. “The people should not be afraid of their governments, the government should be afraid of its people,” V for Vendetta.

                This is the difference between the DREAM Act and other legislation; the dream as some now refer to it, is as pure as it can be in Washington politics. It’s a noble cause, a bill based in fairness, emphasizes in justice. What is for fair than to allow a human being to prove himself, to pursue his dreams? What is more just than to enable a human being to be free? We dreamers are not free; we are chained down by a 9 digit number, by a society that sympathizes with us, yet have no knowledge of our struggle. Ignore our plight for freedom. Yes, we are fighting for freedom in the 21^st century in the United States of America, as insane as it sounds.

                We dreamers are a prideful bunch. We don’t succumb to the opposition tactics; we are moral beings (as for the dreamers I know). Pride is essential to one’s understanding self worth. We are humble, we are not modest, or shy, or timid for that matter. We are courageous beings who will not give up. We have and will continue to stand after we are thrown to the ground, now we have to get up one more time.

Why DREAMers should enlist in the military?

Is serving one’s country is honorable? The answer is an emphatic yes, it not only of merit value. Then why does the pentagon release reports saying that it needs more recruits, "If we needed to expand the pool of eligible youth, the dream initiative would be one of several ways to do it," spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said in an e-mail.. Why does the military service have a bad connotation in the mainstream media? Personally, I believe serving one’s country is a responsibility and a duty. Here in the United States I am free and that freedom has a price; I am more than willing to repay that debt. I know full well war has casualties and I may, suffer physically, emotionally, psychologically, and even die; but hey life is tough all around, “It rains of the just and the unjust alike.” 

That’s the reason for ADAC’s (Arizona Dream Act Coalition) efforts to communicate with the Republican party lately. It goes beyond the need for Congressional votes, we are all Americans, we are all human, and we all believe in the American Values. WE believe man is born free with inalienable rights, life, liberty and the ability to pursuit happiness. Reconsider the phrase the “pursuit of HAPPINESS,” by impeding a person right to pursuit one’s goals and desires you are taking away the basic human rights guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence.  

How can a moral, just, and rational person say that dreamers don’t deserve a right to prove their worth. By worth I mean our right to be legal Americans. The DREAM Act has two paths education and military service, both are noble and consider by the American public; yet the DREAM Act fails time and time again. Why? I don’t know, I don’t wish to endeavor in the past, I believe we must provide solutions to problems, instead of rekindling old passions.

In a FIRSTFOCUS report 60% of likely republican voters for the 2010 midterms support the DREAM Act, while in a Rasmussen Poll it states that 78% of Americans support undocumented students legalizing through military service. Therefore, if a country is ever to reach greatness the will of the people must be met on continuous basis, as a result if the requirement for me to consider a United States citizen is to serve in our armed forces, I take the challenge with honor, dignity, respect, and above all else willing. What type of person would be if I were to defer.

September 27th, 2010 10:40pm

Extremely tired, need sleep. Woke up to the laughter of children, so innocent, full of joy, yet so wise to the ways of humans. Natalie (youngest niece) is a clever child knows how to get what she wants. At a very at very young age has mastered the art of persuasion. Makes me wonder if intelligence is inherited passed down from generation to generation, random effect with no causation, or developed through grueling work, most likely a combination.

                The DREAM Act is consuming my life. Wake up first thought the dream, bored during the importance of ethics in engineering lecture. What must I do to make this DREAM of mine a reality? I have been advocating for the DREAM Act for about a year and half, yet I am exhausted. The movement is addicting; the highs when a new senator co-sponsors, the lows when you realize what they have said all along “you are a lonely pawn, replaceable, in a much larger game.”

                True I am a pawn, but a pawn with an individualist mind. I am me, and only me. I am free to choose, free to decide the course of my life, though with limitation. One could say “I have limited freedom, nevertheless it is still liberty.” Then, again freedom as I know it is the ability to act, and to think without any physical or psychological impediment. Mental barriers are tougher to endure, for the mind controls all. The reality one lives is the image projected by the mind.  Yet in the overall sense there is an ultimate reality, but to whom does this vision belong, can it be own? It is an entity, or a brute fact of nature, similar to gravity?

                By my prognostics I am not completely free, in the land of the free. Hence, can anyone really be free? Free to express one’s sorrows, joys, anger, disappointments, disgusts, scorn, or will? As I understand the significance of the DREAM Act more, and more I have come to the realization, that no-one is truly free , in the physical sense. This is a birth right we surrender for our safety, but for metaphysical certitude, we must be free. Freedom must exist in one’s mind. If the mind controls all, then, we must be individuals, be unique, be free from oppression, hate, fear, free to love, free to loathe, free to dream.

                All we have is our thoughts, our vision, our dreams of a world where one will listen, LISTEN with as much effort as one does to speak. A world were passion, liberty, and valor will be more than theoretical definitions written down by great thinkers, but actions.  This is the spirit of the DREAM Act as I have perceived it. No one intended to be, no-one intended to create a movement, to begin the renaissance of the 21^st generation. Like the civil rights movement and the Chicano movement of the 1950-1960’s, dream generation is compromised of undocumented youth, residents, citizens, men, gays, lesbian, Christian, Muslims, Asian, Latinos, but above all else we are human beings.

              

  We are human beings, strong intelligent individuals with a vision of greatness, with skills and knowledge to achieve that vision. The vision of ending man’s dependence on fossil fuels, to end man’s hunger, a vision where morality will be the center of man’s mind, instead of power (money for our practical purposes). DREAM generation goes beyond the dream legislation, beyond the power old mighty dollar; it is an idea of hope.

                Hope is what OBAMA promised. Hope is what he inspired, hope is was the center of the Obama political machine, hope moves worlds, hope allows us to believe in that the improbable is possible, hope is vital to man essence. Obama created an atmosphere of hope, a can do attitude, with purist simplicity that we were all too eager to believe unquestionably.  Hope cannot be created merely by external factors (forces), it must have an internal seed, needing nutrients to flourish. As a result, hope cannot cease to exist, it merely hides under all the chaos, to be unleashed again. What Obama meant to the nation in 2008, the DREAM Act means to all of us who believe with a childlike euphoria in justice fairness, and above all else freedom. 

Time is up

 Unless you are deaf, blind, and stupid you have heard about SB 1070 law in Arizona. Probably you heard of people calling the law unconstitutional, un-American. Many cities, towns, and people are outrage and rightfully so. You have heard of millions calling for border security or immigration reform. The sad truth is that we have run out of time for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Border Security will not solve the issue.

What we need is sensible actions from our politicians to fix America's broken immigration system. What we need is the DREAM Act. For too long have these kids been told no. You guys need to wait, get in back of the line. They are told you guys are illegals get out of the country. What makes them under serving or in other words illegals?

What is it to follow their parents guidance or was it succeeding and embracing a country that wasn't doesn't want them here.  For too long have talented youth who solemly wish to contribute to America have been told no. Now is the time free the DREAM Act.

What happened to the AMERICAN DREAM

What Happened to the AMERICAN DREAM?

Who am I? What am I? Where am I going? Why do they hate me? Do they have reason to hate me? Why do I want to be here so much? I have struggled with these questions my adult life, desperately wanting direction in my life, wanting to know what was expected of me. I am lost in a chaotic world, where in one side they tell me, you are not American, you crossed the border, and thus, not deserving to call yourself American. I am torn between the country that gave me birth, and the nation which forges my soul, made me strong, and showed me that nothing is above principles.

I have lived 15 plus years of my 21 years in the United States of America, I bleed red, blue, and white as well as green. Unlike many of my DREAMer friends I consider myself Mexican and American. I migrated to the US when I was 6 years old, I have only but a glimpse of memories. I am Mexican, because my mother is Mexican, I could never deny that, Mexico though rough forged my mother, and I must acknowledge where I came from in order to know where I am going. 
Why am I American? Who decides what is American? What does it mean to be American? Who monopolized Americans? How does it feel to have your dreams crushed? How does it feel to fail your parents? I don’t know what is to be an American; I thought I knew, but that idea was shattered when the financial advisor for an university said I am sorry your scholarship is discontinued. She felt my pain, I can remember that day as it was yesterday, it was a gloomy February morning, it had rained earlier and I sat on a bench watching the students head to class, shocked and devastated. I cried, but no tears came out, I yell in anger, but no noise was heard, I promised myself that I will prove them wrong. I will succeed. Nothing can or will stop. I still don’t know who they are, I can’t put a face to them, but know it seems clear to me, that I should not fear them. They should fear me. For history, has taught us anything is that, a man’s bones may be crushed, but his spirit will endure all. My spirit is strong, no matter how many legislation, bills, laws, says that I am un-American. I will tell them what is it to be American? Is it a 9-digit number? Is it the place of birth? Or is it your values and principles? The fact that I migrated when six years old to a new land, learned a new Language, tested in the top 75% of standardized exams, graduated to p 10 of high school graduating class, have no criminal record, and contribute to the betterment of our society. I still don’t know, but I want to know how does it feel to be “AMERICAN.” The DREAM Act will make this true for me, and many other talented youth across this great nation of ours.
My life is nothing but dream. A dream of a mother seeking a better, a dream of a sister not wanting the dreams of her little brother be crushed as where hers, the dream of a brother that he will not lose hope as he did, for he knows works in the hot Arizonan summers, desperately trying to better his life. The Dream of a father, who too often was told that he couldn’t succeed, too often that he too believed it. I am the hopes and dreams of a family, as the first person to obtain a college education. I remember the summer of 2006; it was then that I realized I had what it took to be a college man. My teachers had always told me, you should go to go college be an engineer you are good in the sciences, be a mathematician you are great in math, be an economist you excel in economics, or be a historian you were the two time social studies student of the year. I knew I had potential, there was never a doubt, but I never thought I belong with ranks of the college people. Until then, when my elder of my sisters told you will be the first in our family to attend college. She looked squarely in the eye, she said “ Rafita tu vas hacer el primero que se gradué de la universidad de esta familia,” with such certitude that I haven’t doubted it since. Earlier that day I had cried out of frustration. All my life I had been able to solve math problems, yes I had my fair share of difficulty mastering Algebra, but nothing like Calculus. Truth be told I received A on my last 3 exams of the course, after having received 2 D’s, one 2 C and a B on my previous exams. I finished the course with a B, the proudest grade I have ever received till date.

They graduate high school with such promise, but its promise that’s all. Some are lucky and pursue a college education. Many become professionals, but they are reduced to hard labor in order to survive. Pick onions under the hot Arizonan sun, frame houses with mechanical engineering degrees. America' greatness was not founded on this. I listen every night on talk shows, don't they understand they are illegal. I ask them do you understand the harshness of reality outside the US. Don't you understand the adversity that DREAM students face?
Don't you understand the improbability of a kid from Herecuaro, Guanajuato, Mexico obtaining a college education? When no-one is his family could, when no-one is his town ever could. Do you understand that in order to provide for his family at age 13 he woke up at 4am on Saturday mornings to work in construction with his father? 
Don’t you understand that 120 degrees for him is nothing, but a mindset. Do you understand that 4.0 GPA in middle school means nothing. For he can’t come home as a failure, how could he fail his mother, fail his father, fail his siblings. He comes come battered, bruised, burn, exhausted, but proud. That pride carries his dreams to reach college. He can’t imagine another summer like this one. Sadly, more summers keep on coming. He is building Fulton homes, Shea homes, customs in north Scottsdale, retirement homes for the people that hate him, all the while dreaming of time where he will be able to live in one of those. 
All the while he excels in school, he knows too much to fail. He knows the life that awaits him if he doesn’t succeed. He succeeds, graduates top ten of his graduating class, student athlete of the year, math student of the year, social studies student of the year, with 21 college hours, with full-ride scholarships. Attends prestigious summer programs like John Hopkins center for Talented youth as an incoming high school freshmen, as well, as the Math Science Honors Program as a senior in high school. There is a glaring difference for him above all else, he is illegal. All those nights studying are for nothing. Prop 300 did what the desert couldn’t, broke his spirit. His story doesn’t end there, it can’t, he won’t let it end. He was overcome so much, his family has sacrificed too much to give up now. His fortitude will not be broken, his dream will continue, for he is a DREAMer.
A personal story that has haunted me for years, when I would run track in high school I would kill in the practices, go all out, never being afraid of fading out, of cramps, or of injury. The pain was just another obstacle in my path to the finish line, but in races it was different. I was afraid. I wouldn't run with the same determination. I would make excuses, and always run slower. My coach would say what are you afraid of? What are you afraid of? I couldn’t answer him. I still can't. I would quit on myself, I know that now. Thinking I that there is established places for some, and for others there wasn't. The DREAM Act movement has taught me I can be what I am willing to fight for. There is no reason to be afraid. No reason to hold back. No reason to try and fail. Failure is only a word, that you give significance when you acknowledge it. Failure is you giving up on yourself. Life goes on. NO matter what happens life goes on. Life goes on.

The DREAM Act may die in Congress like it has done so in the past. I may not have the financial means to attend college this year. I may be deported if I am stopped by the Maricopa’s sheriff’s department. The DREAM Act may pass, I may continue my education and graduate in May with a Mechanical Engineering degree from ASU, or I will continue to work under the table. Any one of these outcomes may come to fruition, all is uncertain. All I know is that life goes on. My dreams, what makes me will not die or will not be accomplished in the near future. It takes a lifetime to achieve a dream, no one can my end my dream, the only way to kill a dream is to stop living. Life goes on, no matter what happens life will go on.

The Fourth Day

Its 11:32 am. Blank got nothing

Its 12:00 pm and I have to write a blog explaining on my experience has been at dream army camp. Really can’t put it into words right now. Mind is at a total blank. I am lost, unaware of my surroundings, unaware of what it is that I am doing. Unaware how insane it is to sleep on the sidewalk in the corner of a major cross-section. Unaware what drove us to act in this manner? Unaware that I am outside of John McCain’s office, and what it means to be here. What the consequences of my action could be. I am lost, will be lost for a very long time. I know this. Is the passage of the DREAM Act assured, up in the air, or is it just a dream?

Its 2pm and nothing pops into my tiny little head, no original thought, nothing worthwhile. No true emotion desperately wanting to be freed. All its garbage, it has been all along, garbage.

4pm arrives as fast as 2pm, following 3pm with no regard for human complain. I am getting old, I am getting sicker, I am tired, time could care less, in fact by its nature its doesn’t care. I am hungry and stunned; so many people show their support for us. Amaze that we, young adults lost in the chaos of immigration reform, entrenched in the dirt, might actually contribute significantly to the cause. So, we are not alone in Arizona, if we are not, why does it fell that we are? Just thoughts, everything is just a thought I believe. Do I believe or is it certitude? I will leave for later.

6pm DRILL, maybe DRILL. DREAM ARMY drill.

           

8pm had a good talk with a friend regarding school, comics, and life in general.

           

10:30 pm picked up 15ft American flag from a friend of my friend. Weird how these terms are used. Better not lose it.

11:15pm time to unwind

Today I awoke tired, hungry, and bewilder. Took a step back and asked myself, “What I am doing? It wasn’t what am I doing today, more like what am I doing with my life. Am I losing perspective of the important things, or gaining new understanding of what truly matters?  Simple question, yet difficult to answer. First thought that popped into my head was to head to DREAM Army camp, show my support and commitment to the cause. Second thought was to go with the phone banking team headquarters.

This word “DREAM” it has a new significance to a mere state of being. It has transcended grammar, as well as, politics to become an idea. This is what I know about an idea; an idea can not be trapped, it can not be measured, an idea moves worlds, an idea can save man. The DREAM Act has become an idea, and we dreamers are a concept. We refer to ourselves as dreamers, not only for our legal status, but our moral condition to fight for justice. The DREAM Act is more than a piece of legislation, more than a document, its more than me; it’s the hope of a nation. Yes, you might think I am over exaggerating right now, but take a step back.

The DREAM Act goes beyond race, genre, ethnicity, religion, or politics. A person can be undocumented with a college degree, but still not a dreamer. While, a person might be 100% pure blooded American, yet that person is a dreamer. We have 800,000 (according to my sources) eligible DREAM Act candidates, yet as a group we made just a little over 15,000 calls to senators asking for their support on Friday. A large portion of these calls came from citizens, or residents, leads me to a point where are all these so called “dreamers”.

Time is of the essence, not only to legalize the dream generation but to change the course of the nation. The United States of America no longer produce the most copper in the western hemisphere Chile does, the richest man is not American, but Mexican, and Canada and Venezuela produce more oil than us. Times are changing, no longer can the ideas of the past prevail, they are becoming obsolete, new minds are needed to fill the gap, to solve problems. It is on our shoulders, “if we choose to accept, the course of our nation that is.”

We say I want to contribute, pursue journalism, become a doctor, but which among us (dreamers) have the desire to save this world. The world is in trouble, the most it has seen. We youth tend to ignore the problems of the world, become close minded in our little facebook chats, little get together, little socials, little vacations. Vacations from what, work, family, school, our lives? Isn’t that what we fought for so long to have lives, to have a job, to have a family? Now we don’t want it. Thousands of human beings will die today from hunger, disease, torture, war, lack of access to clean water. While we complain about traffic, how hot it is in Arizona, about the rising prices of oil. It’s sad and pathetic, but what can we do we are simple mortals with insignificant lives.

            Who among us, cares about humanity, beyond all its superficialities, above all its corruption, deceit, and savagery. Who among us would dedicate (I don’t believe in sacrifice) his/her life to save something which has no desire to save itself. The ozone layer is vanishing with every piece of coal that China, and India burn, with every mile our vehicles our cars make, with every kilowatt hour produce by a power plant. We are polluting our oceans; many regions of the world suffer from perpetual water shortages. We are killing ourselves over oil, race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ignorance and even borders. Borders which only protect us from external dangers, thus, leaving us wide open to the internal. Which are worse? We are blinded by our desire to feel safe. We don’t acknowledge the fact that we are afraid of tomorrow. We live with no regard of the future; we loot of our neighbors, brothers, and strangers.

            We are parasites, living off the Earth, yet we think we are entitled. Entitle to what I say? Entitle to an education? Entitle to a car? Entitle to our own room? The only thing we are entitling to as rational human beings is our freedom, our right to pursue that which is most important to us. Everything else needs to be earned.

I know of one person who believes in the Dreamers. He inspires me to be greater than what I could ever conceive of being possible. He is humble, yet confident. He cares about human beings, really cares. He symbolizes this quote I once heard “Even though I disagree with your opinion I would fight for your right to have it.” In retrospect what type of person would I be if I didn’t pay tribute. What human being would I be if I were to quit. I wouldn’t be a dreamer, that’s the type of person I would be. 11:59 pm 

September 21st DREAM Act as a Stand Alone Bill

Alone I perceive myself as a very intelligent, driven individual. I fear that my lack of confidence will ultimately, hurt the future that is to be mine. The DREAM Act will not pass not pass as an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill, as many hoped, I knew this would happen. The opposition would perform an ultimate an ultimate act to stall the inevitable; the passage of the DREAM Act is a matter of when, not if.

This is what we all wanted an opportunity to fight for our ability to pursue a better future, nothing more, nothing less. We are fighting for a chance to prove ourselves to the nation; to show our talent, courage, strength, and hunger to succeed. Not all dreamers will have the same perspective, but this is the truth.

Some seek answers, where there are none, others provide alternatives. We must endure; we must overcome the obstacles bestowed upon by our desire to call American citizen. American? What is American? Is it a cultural question, or ethnicity, or race, or content of character, or is it geographical location on Earth? I have yet to understand what it means to be patriotic of America.

If I knew one thing about love is that you accept the bad, appreciate the good, and cherish the moments of joy. Hence, if I am to consider myself American, I must love America. Love the diversity, the opportunity, the socio-economic-cultural miscommunications. There, if the DREAM Act is ever to be signed by Barak Hussein Obama we must understand or at least try to understand the opposition. Humans aren’t inherently evil, just miss-informed, or lied too, or both. Then, and only then we will see the fruits of our labor.