Just like most of you on this forum, my future completely depends on the Dream Act being passed in the next few years. I was brought to the United States when I was only 2 and have no memory of the country I was born in. I grew up not really understanding my legal status in the country nor what it limited me to doing. Now I'm a senior in high school and have absolutely no idea about my future in the next couple years.
I'm fluent in Spanish, English, and French. I have a strong desire to pursue a career in aerospace engineering and, being raised in Annapolis, MD, my dream has always been to earn commission in the Navy or Marine Corps through the Naval Academy. I have done everything right so far. I'm entering my fourth year of JROTC in high school, rank in the top 10% of my class, and have never had problems with the law. I even received a metal and certificate from the from a Military Association for my leadership qualities and potential success in the military this past year.
I lost hope when I learned I was denied an internship with a prestigious engineering company due to my lack of citizenship and more importantly, I was automatically I eligible for the school of my dreams. Trying to plan out my future is impossible. I don't qualify for ROTC scholarships or financial aid. I come from a family of four that are all supported by a single mother, so I am positive that supporting myself through college is virtually impossible. It killed me thinking that the US would never care for kids like me, and that my efforts to change that were useless. And it killed me even more knowing I could never do something I deemed meaningful in my life because, to the government, I'm nonexistent and it'd stay that way forever.
The Dream act will be a blessing to me and my family. I won't be equal at all to my peers nor will it allow me to have an easy path toward reaching my goals, but it provides me with a long pathway. The DADA and potential approval of the Dream Act is the only thing keeping my hopes up. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. Si se puede!
