I remember when I first came to America and how excited I was to finally meet my father for the first time. I was four years old when my mother decided to move to America. My father had been living in New York City for a little over four years when I first met him. He took the brave decision of leaving his family in Colombia, SA to go find the “American Dream.” In Colombia, people progress very slowly and it takes a lot of will power for an individual to earn an honest living and progress within the socioeconomic levels. In 1994, my father decided that he was going to give his family an opportunity to progress but in a different country, and his decision is one I will always be thankful for. At a young age, I did not care that I would be staying in the country undocumented nor did my legal documentation affect me at that age. Now at the age of 22, I understand how much of a brave decision it was to stay undocumented in America. I realize how much of a privilege it is to currently have legal documentation and say that I am a citizen of the United States of America.
Surprisingly, my first teacher in America was Colombian. Since she was bilingual she was able to lessen the culture shock and the language barrier that comes when migrating to a new country. I learned English in about eight months, because when your young your brain works like a sponge soaking up information. I remember coming home to my mother speaking English because I was so excited about learning it, but she proceeded to ignore me every time I spoke English in the house. I would get so frustrated as I wanted to teach her all these new words and phrases, but now I understand why she acted that way. The opportunities that have been presented to me because I am bilingual are startling, especially because I could have lost my first language if my mother did not force me to speak to her in Spanish.
New York City is an extremely diverse city that is known for promoting its inclusivity and diversity. I grew up with the idea that diversity was a standard in America as I was surrounded by immigrants from all over the world. At the age of eleven, I realized I was greatly wrong when I moved to South Carolina. In Greenville, SC I found myself having to defend who I was because I had become part of a minority population. I can recall at least three separate occasions where I got so upset with being called a Mexican that I was called to speak to a school supervisor. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being called a Mexican, nor do I have anything against Mexicans, but the lack of knowledge of different Latin American countries really upset me. I then realized that I had to find my own sense of community in a community that did not accept me for factors beyond my control. My circle of friends then consisted of other students who were considered minorities in this country and together we made it through high school. Unfortunately, some of my friends did not have the opportunities that I had because of their socioeconomic status and documentation status, so I knew that in college I had to find a way to help retain success in higher education. Coming to the University of South Carolina I needed to find my own community and sense of belonging in a predominantly white institution. When that was not found, a group of friends and I decided to create an organization called Mujeres in Action(Women in Action) which the intention of one day becoming the only active Latina- founded sorority on campus. Now that I am a senior I realize how my support group played a critical part in my retention in higher education and I am glad that the Beta Xi Chapter of Kappa Delta Chi Sorority, Inc. will continue to be that for incoming students. So what is the most important thing to know about me? I want to change the world. I know that sounds naïve but changing the world can mean changing someone’s world and improving the quality of life of individuals. When I wake up in the morning I remind myself that what I do today has to have a positive impact in any aspect of my life. I hope that when I wake up Monday mornings to go to work, I feel that my presence is necessary to make the world a better place to live in for future generations. I have learned that I am very passionate in everything I do, and that I cannot let my passion die down as it is what drives me. Everything I do, I must do with love and compassion because if my intentions are not clear then my outcome will not serve its intended purpose. I may be a graduating senior and I may have a lot of things left to accomplish but I hope that wherever life takes me I am positively changing my surroundings.