On Immigration:

When I hear about immigration, the first thing that goes though my mind is all the people that go to other countries to have a better life. Emigrating is hard for many people that don’t have the money to pay to get their passport and visa. I think that all people that come to the U.S without papers come to get a better life, to get better work and to give a better education to their children. Here, in Tucson, I see illegal people waking up everyday at 5 A.M, getting ready to go to work because they have to pay the bills and buy food that they need to survive.

When other people hear about immigration, sometimes they think bad and sometimes good. I’ve heard some people that do not like Mexican people say “Omg!! The Mexican people are just coming to get our money and to make more trouble.” They always think that Mexicans are bad. I am not saying that we are all good – there are some bad Mexicans just like there are some bad Americans, but not most are like this. I appreciate that there are some people that help Mexicans to get a better life. They sometimes let people stay in their home so they can work. There are many nice people that like to help Mexicans and others, and that is what our world needs.

Autobiographical Writing:

My Life in Mexico

I remember when I was living in Nayarit, Mexico and my mom told me that we were moving to a ranch where my grandmother lived. I remember she told me we have to move because my grandmother was alone. I didn’t want to move, but I had to.

It was a pretty day like always, and my mom told me that I have to go to school. The school was located on a ranch. I was so nervous my first day of school. It was going to be the first time that I had to move to another school. I was going into 3^rd grade. I was in the school with my mom getting the papers and then the principal asked me if I wanted to meet my new teacher and classmates. I told him that I didn’t know because I was nervous, so my mom responded for me. I was going to my new class and I was looking so carefully to see if I liked the school. It was so small that I didn’t like it. Then we were in the classroom and I introduced myself to my new teacher and classmates.

When we were walking home, I told my mom that I didn’t like that school because it was too small. She told me that I have to do what she said and that we were not going back home; that we had to stay there to take care of my grandmother. The next day I was going to school and one of the girls that was in my class started talking to me. Then, by the end of the day, I had a lot of friends.

We stayed there for three years. One day my mom told me that we were coming to the U.S to get a better life and a better education. I had always dreamed of coming to the U.S and speaking English. I used to sing in the shower in English, and I was always talking in English with invented words.

Then all the family packed up to come to Tucson. All my brothers were planning what they were going to do in Tucson. I didn’t plan anything because I was so sad because I didn’t want to come to Tucson and go to school. The only thing I wanted at the time was to go back to Nayarit.

My Present in the U.S.

I came here in 2002. When I first came here, I didn’t know any English. My first year in Townsend Middle School was so terrible. I didn’t know what to do, with whom to speak. I was so nervous and I almost cried. After a month, I was talking to a lot of people that speak Spanish. I remember that we were living with my tía; that house was so small. Everybody was crowded in the little house. Then, after a year, my dad was working in a perfect place, and we had the money to move to another house. Moving to another house was hard, because we didn’t know anybody. We stayed in the house for about three years, and after that we moved to another house that was better and had more rooms.

Now, I am a person that likes to talk a lot; I don’t know why but I am always talking. I like to play soccer, tennis and volleyball. I have been in the U.S for five years now. I know how to speak English; I now how to write and to understand. I remember that I always dreamed of coming to the U.S and now that I am here I don’t want to lose this opportunity to learn more English. I want to live here for the rest of my life. I am a person that likes to care about what I want and I know school is important for my future. I like to talk to everybody. I am not like those girls that don’t like to talk to another person just because of their skin color. To me it doesn’t matter that I am a cool person. I like to help my family when they need my help. I like to read.

Now, I am having a perfect live here in Tucson. Still, sometimes I just want to move back to Mexico, like when my family needs money to pay for some things and they don’t have it. Then I feel so stupid because I can’t work to help my family. The only thing that I am sure of is that I want to achieve my goals here in Tucson, and I want to stay here for the rest of my life.

My Future in Life

I will be a person
That is going to succeed
Because I don’t want to be working in restaurants

I will teach people
How to help other people
Cause when you help someone,
Someone else will help you.

I will help
my family to have a better life
By finishing school, going to college
And getting a good paying job.

I will be
a professional dentist
to help other people
who can’t pay for dentist expenses.

I will have
a big family
Because I love kids and
I want to have some of my own