My Name is Adan and I Am Undocumented

This week's guest Dreamer is Adan.  Visit Dreamactivist.org to find out how you can help pass the DREAM Act.

Coming from a low-income Mexican-American family, I have faced many hardships on my path to reaching all my goals and more are yet to come. However, through my dedication hard work and perhaps sometimes ridiculously stubborn determination I have been able to overcome most of them. I was brought to the United States when I was eight years old and entered the fifth grade. Since then I had to overcome a huge obstacle: learn a completely new language without getting behind in any other subject. Surprisingly even to myself, I was fluent enough to carry on conversations by the end of the academic year. In fact, although I wasn’t speaking completely perfect English, I was still being chosen for student of the month among other awards just months from arriving.

I had always excelled in school and coming to a new country and having to learn a new language was not going to change that, it just made me try that much harder. By the end of sixth grade, I was completely fluent and had perhaps fewer grammar and spelling errors than other kids who had been here their entire life. At the beginning of high school, however, I decided that being a regular student like most everyone else was not enough challenge for me, which made me enroll in AP classes not knowing exactly what I was getting into. The AP classes alone were several steps higher than regular classes, but the biggest challenge was breaking the barriers and stereotypes that were set for Mexican-American students and prove to everyone, teachers included, but especially myself that I was capable of being a straight A student in AP classes. With hard work I made my way into the top 10 percent of my graduating class.

As senior year in high school quickly approached, I started looking into colleges and universities although I had no encouragement from other people. In fact, I was always told that I would not be able to attend higher education because of my family’s low income, but most importantly because I was not born here and didn’t have a social security number. However, I would not let anyone tell me what I would be able wouldn’t be able to accomplish, so I did my own research and luckily found out about Senate Bill 1528. SB 1528 allowed me into A&M, where I would fulfill my dream of being in the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. I had gone through and overcome many obstacles on my way to reaching my goal of attending A&M and learned so much from them that I wanted the challenges to keep coming, which is one of the main reasons I joined the Corps of Cadets (a military organization) and the Aggie Band. I truly believe that hardships and setbacks often lead to exponential personal growth which is why it is the main learning and training method of the Corps.

There is one obstacle, however, that I wish I didn’t have and have yet to overcome—not having a Social Security Number or legal residence and citizenship. This is a huge hindrance that has set me back a great deal throughout my life because it affects just about every part of life. Many times I have been upset at the fact that, because I was brought here as a young child, I consider myself an American and respect and honor the American Flag and everything it stands for. Then I look around and so many people lack that pride of being an American because they just take it for granted. I try to be the best citizen and person I can yet I cannot enjoy some of the freedoms and liberties my peers do—freedoms so necessary for everyday life such as being able to legally drive. Not having a Social Security Number not only did it make it harder for me to get to college, it also keeps me from being eligible for Federal financial aid, making it even harder for me to stay in college.

The most frustrating thing about this obstacle is that I cannot do anything to overcome it. The process of receiving legal residence is a long tedious process that takes about ten years if there are no problems with the application. My family and I have waited for eight years; however, it is not for certain that once the ten years have passed that we will get our legal residence.

This burden that has been with me and my family since my childhood years, setting me back constantly, could potentially keep me from getting a job upon graduation. This is in fact one of the biggest fears I have always had. Although I would be an Aggie Graduate with a degree, this one obstacle that is to no fault of my own and completely out of my power could potentially make all my hard work, all the obstacles I have overcome, all the goals I have reached, meaningless and crush every dream I ever had including the American dream of climbing to the top through hard work, by forcing me to settle for a minimum-wage, dead-end job. As I have demonstrated, most obstacles can be overcome through hard work, which makes you a better person. I am not afraid to face challenges because I know that dedication will get me through any obstacle and make me appreciate reaching my goal that much more. I have learned to not take anything for granted and work towards all your goals because I truly believe that anyone can do anything they
set their mind to.