The American Dream Pt.2

Hello Everyone,

It’s been a very busy week for me. I’ve had a lot on my plate as of late. It’s been hard to find time to go and photograph. I thought I would have time over the weekend but unfortunately because of the rain I wasn’t able to go. The sudden change of weather also has trigger my MS symptoms. I have been dealing with a lot of fatigue and pain. I am not sure if is my muscles or bones but my legs have been in a lot of pain. My hands also have been very swollen and I am not sure if this is normal. If my symptoms continue I will definitely be reaching out to my doctor to see what he says. I have been enjoying my photography as of late that I have been feeling more willing to try new niches. I have been enjoying my street photography and because of the spring, flowers have been one of my favorite things to photograph. There’s so much things I been working on and I am hoping to soon launch my product photography. I hope you have been enjoying as well. This past week I stayed up very late fixing and updating my portfolio so I am hoping you check it out and see some great photos I have captured and haven’t been able to share yet. This week I am going to continue my story on my journey here to America. I want to remind you that there will be strong scenarios so I will add * to the beginning and end of this violent moments so you can skip it if you wish.

As you may remember last week I left off in a house where our guide had drop us off at and stayed there for 3 weeks. After those 3 weeks we were told we would be walking through the dessert and to pack can food and water because they were unsure how long we will be there and that way we can have something to eat and drink. They put us in a truck and drove us to the edge of a road in the middle of the night. I remember it being pitch black and scary. I was 8 so this was very terrifying for me I didn’t like the darkness as I use to watch scary shows and was terrified something would appear and take me away. We walk that whole night through the dessert. I was doing my best to keep up I remember holding on to my mom’s hand to make sure I wasn’t left behind. The next morning we had arrived at the edge of the mountains we were told that we would be climbing this mountain and that once we reach the halfway point we would take a break and eat. I remember it being really hot so hot in fact that I felt like my shoes were on fire. I started feeling pain on my feet wasn’t to sure why but it burn. I couldn’t stop walking however so I waited until we got to the halfway point. Once there I took off my shoes and noticed that I had blisters on my feet and it was bad. I started to cry as they were hurting and I showed my mom. I didn’t have anything to apply to the area so I just had to suck it up and keep going. We took out a can out tuna we had packed and ate it just like that. This was the nastiest food I ever had but it was the only thing we had so I ate it. We continued on our way we pass the mountain and by the time the sun was going down we got to the side of the road where a car was waiting for us. We were taken to a bus stop where we were put on a bus and that bus took us to another city. Once we had arrived there we were put in a hotel room. I was so glad as I was super tired. They ordered pizza for us and for the first time in a few days we had a wonderful meal. We were told what the next steps would be and I wasn’t to happy.

We were taken to the border crossing and we were told that we would walk and walk until we found a border patrol agent. We were to tell them we had someone waiting here for us and they should let us in. However, this plan lack a lot of important details. We weren’t told we had to cross a river and they didn’t tell us in which direction to walk to. We figured out the river situation once we got over the fence. There was a guy there with a tire and offer to take us across. While on the tire the guy pushing me went under and took awhile to comeback up it honestly scared me I thought I was going to get taken by the current and that if I fell I was going to drive. On top of that I wasn’t near my mom so I wasn’t terrified. Once we got across we started walking until finally we found a border patrol agent which took us in and drove us to their detention center. Once there we were booked and process. We were put in a cell and it was there were I was given an egg mcmuffin. This was the first time ever trying this sandwich and I remember it being so nasty. They then told us we were being deported and basically send us back to Mexico. Lucky for us the guide was still in the area and we called him and he was able to meet us somewhere and put us in a hotel room again. We were there for a couple of days and it was at this hotel room where I discovered Michael Jackson. I was experiencing a lot of things all at once and it was hard to take it all in at once. *It was a Tuesday morning we had been at the hotel room for so long that the guide told us to go out and explore but not to go to far. He gave us some money and told us to get some food as well. We got some tacos and we were enjoying out meal when we heard a commotion. A lot of people had gathered around and we were sure what was going on we hadn’t heard anything so we were clueless. I started to pay attention to what everyone was talking about and I started to hear them say someone had been murdered. It was truly terrifying to hear those words it gave me a strange feeling in my stomach. It was a bad feeling and I immediately got uncomfortable I think my mom noticed because she told me to head back to the hotel. We started walking back and got into the room and I just kept replaying the whole scenario in my head. Shortly after we heard a knock on the door and it was the manager of the hotel room telling us that we had to leave because the gentleman paying for our room had just been murdered right outside the hotel*.

We were left out in the street with no where to go. My mom immediately used the money she had left to call my dad and have him call someone to come pick us up. I remember her crying telling him what had happen and I remember her telling him where we were. They were able to find us and take us to another hotel in another city. It was here where we were told the plan again which was technically the same but we were going to try another entry point. The same thing happen but we weren’t crossing any rivers this time. This time around we were let through they gave us a court date and took us to the bus station where they gave us a ticket to go to Houston. Once we got to Houston we were put in a house with a nice lady who kept us until we could be brought here to Virginia. A week later we were put in a minivan and we were driven around many cities in the U.S dropping off different individuals. I remember being at an awe with the huge cities I was seeing. Once I arrived here I was excited to start school and learn English. It took me a year before going to school because one of my aunts we were living with kept telling us that us immigrants couldn’t go to school in this country. She placed a lot of fears in my head with the crazy things she use to tell me. Once I started school I put my best foot forward into learning the language and thanks to SpongeBob the cartoon I was able to learn English in less than a year. I grew up in this country and consider this my home I don’t remember much of my country so I consider this my home.

I hope you have enjoyed I really loved writing this. I love this country and all the opportunities it’s brought for me and my family. I’m grateful I got to come here when I did and I am grateful that I grew up here. I am still chasing the American Dream and I hope to one day achieve it. Until next week I hope everyone has a bless week.