MoniqueMelissa

I came here when I was 8 from Trinidad and really up until my sophomore year in high school I lived a normal oblivious life. The last 3 years has been the hardest years of my life because more often than not, my mom and I couldn't make ends meet. But I think that we're all a lot stronger and more determined than other people our age because we know exactly what's trying holding us back and we refuse to let it. It's a bit silly but something my mom always told me that has gotten me through every difficult time in my life is: God doesn't give you anything you can't handle. Personally I volunteer a lot and that helps so much. I see families who live in shelters, people who don't have food on thanksgiving, people with illnesses who can't afford medication, and children who never get anything for Christmas. They're all American citizens. Here I am, without any documentation, and even at my most difficult point I have more than a good percentage of Americans. It's a struggle but we can do it for ourselves and for our parents who made the sacrifice for us.

Congrats!!

My absolute favorite song of all time from my favorite band. It's impossible to be unhappy listening to this song (for me at least )

Didn't they pass the California Dream Act? I think in addition to in-state tuition, if you're low income you get financial aid. They have restrictions like you have to have graduated or attended a California High School for 3 years. I know it applies to all the public colleges and universities so maybe. I'm not 100% sure. Maybe ask an advisor. I also know that in New York the CUNY's offer financial aid to anyone as long as you qualify for it. Good luck

Yeah I know! Ugh I can't wait until I get some kind of news about it . Lol I'm trying to be patient but it's difficult.

Hey! I'm pretty new here but I'm really happy that I found this forum. 1. Being undocumented hasn't really affected my love life too drastically. It only had two little impacts on it. Once was when my ex wanted me to go to Cancun with his family and the other was when he was trying to teach me how to drive and I turned down his offer. I gave him indistinct replies to both answers and it didn't really affect anything. 2. Being undocumented has been really hard financially. I was supposed to start college last semester and everyone who knows me knows that I've been dreaming about college since I was in the 3rd grade. I could start though because I couldn't get financial aid and I didn't get enough from scholarships. Also I don't know anyone who can/will cosign my loan. Hopefully I should be starting at the end of this month but my mom and I haven't made the first payment. We'll see. Socially, I used to live in Florida and by the time I graduated high school everyone in my grade drove except for me. I told them I was waiting until I moved back to New York over the summer to get it here. 3. Lol I lived a "double life" for years until last year I got really fed up after about an 8 month period of struggle. Basically a bunch of things happened and right before I started my senior year in high school, my mom and I moved 3 times over the summer. I was stressed and I told one of my closest friends. She handled it really well and I lived with her family for four months. Then I told my best friend and she handled it well but she doesn't really understand it at all. 4. It was definitely a struggle telling my best friend because I kept it from her for so long. I think the important thing to remember when you go to tell someone is that most people won't care because they don't understand. Also if you really trust the person you're going to tell and you know they care about you, they won't treat you differently. They'll actually do their best to help you out, like my friend who let me live with her. 5. I want to drive. I want to go to school without wondering how I'm going to scrape together cash for books, food, metrocards and next semester. I want a student loan (bet you don't hear that often). I want to go to medical school. I want to get a summer job at NSLC. I want to do internships. I want to study abroad and go to Canada with my friends over spring break. When someone asks for an ID I want to give them a state ID instead of my passport/student ID. Most importantly, I want to go to the airport without nearly having a heart attack every time a TSA agent looks at my passport. Lol I wrote a lot but I had a lot of stuff I wanted to share.

- Date Application Sent: October 5th, 2012 - Application's Lockbox: Chicago (Sent to Vermont) - Date acceptance letter: October 13th, 2012 - Date of I-797 C (Application Approved): Pending - Date Biometrics (Scheduled): November 9th, 2012 at 10am - Date of EAD received: Pending