On Immigration:

Immigration has been a very big issue for years, and now with all these new laws that are coming up it’s getting even worse. Some of the laws are just plain racist and stand to hurt immigrants and their families. I think that is just wrong. Immigrants don’t come here to commit crimes or steal from people. Immigrants come here to get a job and have a life a little bit better than the one they had in their country. The State and the Federal legislature should really look at the consequences for all those laws. The economy could go down. The dollar value also is going to go down and then prices are going to be so high that people are not going to be able to afford what they need. Since most of the industry of this country is sustained by immigrants, trying to get rid of them is going to be the biggest error this country will ever make.

Autobiographical Writing:

An Adventurous Childhood

When I was a little kid I was always looking for trouble or something extreme to do. I didn’t care what anyone else said, when I felt like doing something, I had to get it done. If I didn’t, I felt a little empty in my adrenaline meter. “Ten mucho cuidado.” Be careful. That’s what my parents always said to me, but I never listened. I wanted action and danger.

One day, my best friend and I went to walk on people’s fences. They were not just any kind of fences. They were tall and a little slim, so you had to be careful not to fall. I had done that many times, so I wasn’t worried about falling. That day my friend was wearing baggy pants and loose shoes, so he had to be extra careful. We were half way along the fences when suddenly the wind started to blow. It was such a strong wind that we were losing balance. Then I told him, “Looks like we have company” which was great because I liked when it was windy. I could improve my balance and it made my legs strong. Right after I said that, my friend tripped and fell off the fence. The good thing is that he didn’t land straight onto the floor. He landed on the clothesline of the house and nothing happened to him. I helped him back up and made sure he was ok. When he was back on the fence, the homeowner came out and started to yell at us, “P#%$*es chamacos, me tiraron el tendedero.” We ran over all the walls we had left and hurried back to our homes.

When I wasn’t getting into trouble as a child, I hung out with my grandpa when he came back from work. Once a month my grandpa liked to take me and some of my friends or sometimes my family to swim in the river. Since he worked in the irrigation plant, he knew all the coolest spots which other people didn’t know about. When I wasn’t having fun swimming I used to fish, but not with a fishing pole. I fished with a spear gun; it was more fun and more dangerous than just being standing and waiting like a fool to see if you can catch something. One day I caught a fish bigger than a watermelon. I was very proud because after I caught it, my grandpa and I made a ceviche that was delicious, and everybody enjoyed it.

Since I was always looking for trouble, I always was covered with bruises and cuts. When I was ten, everybody used to call me “gordito” (it means little fat kid). I hated that nickname especially when they said it in front of my friends. One day I decided that I would never be called gordito again in my life, so I stepped up and told everybody not to call me gordito again. At first they laughed, but after a few days they respected my decision and they never call me gordito anymore. I felt so powerful and full of pride that I felt like going on a quick trip on my bike to the park. Once I saw that the park pool was open and that some of my friends were there, I rode over to them and one of my friends then told me, “I dare you to jump off the lifeguard tower.” Since I was feeling great and with a lot of power, I said yes. It was probably a 20 to 25 foot free fall. When I got to the top of the tower, I looked down. My friends looked so small from up there. Finally, I jumped. For those 3 to 5 seconds that I was falling, I felt so happy and free like nobody could catch me or reach me.

The Present

My present is kind of strange. I say it is kind of strange because I never expected to be here. I never expected to be living in the U.S. and going to school here. When I just got here, I felt a little weird because I didn’t know how to speak English, so I had to be quiet all the time. Also I had to learn how to write in English. I had a bad time studying vocabulary and I still do, though it’s not that hard once you get the hang of it.

Now I speak two languages. I am bilingual; asi es puedo hablar en dos lenguajes. It feels great being able to communicate in another language because you can learn about different cultures and about what people like to do.

Now I also shop with dollars. It was hard to get used to the way money works around here; it took me like a month to know the value of each coin. I’m still trying to get used to the rules and laws of this country as well.

Given all the laws, I don’t go out as much as I did in México, so I don’t get to do anything extreme any more. I don’t ride my bike any more and don’t go fishing either. Now I only go with my friends once a week or once a month. Right now I consider myself a very good student and, not to show off but I got straight A’s. I have been doing a lot of work lately trying to keep my grades up. I want to keep my grades up because I would like to join the baseball team this season. Baseball is one of my favorite sports and I will do anything I can to get a chance to play.

I miss my country. Yeah, I have almost the same things here and some of them even better than the ones I had, but it is not the same. My country has that spice and heat that makes you feel like home. The way people express themselves in México is different from the U.S. In México, people express in a warm way with more feelings; it’s easy to understand. I also miss the tacos de carne asada. The U.S. has tacos too, but they are not the same. To me, the carne (meat) tastes like nothing; it is as if you were chewing a piece of rubber.

This U.S. life is my present and maybe my future too. This is the way my family has chosen to live now.

How will it be?

My future, my future
What will happen to me?
Where am I going to live?
When am I going to die?

Will I become a pro chef and have my own restaurant
Enjoying my success and wealth?
Or will I fail and live on the streets
Asking for money at street corners?

Will I get married and have a family
Enjoying happiness and good moments?
Or will I be lonely and sad
Suffering the rest of my life?

Will I have a great kid
And be proud of him?
Or will I have a problem child
That commits crimes and gets in trouble?

Will I live and die as old and happy
Or will I die young and unhappy?

What will happen to me?
I don’t know and I don’t want to know
I would like to discover it by myself
Experiencing each day as it comes.