My Name Is Sotero Gonzalez Marin And I Am A Proud Mexicano.

[sotero_gonzalez 54]

Ive been in the U.S since i was 4 years old. All i remember from that life changing journey is that i was crammed in the trunk of a car for what seemed to be an eternity before arriving in the state of California, more especifically the city of Santa Ana.

Growing up as an immigrant in Santa Ana wasnt all that bad until i got to high school. The dumb slurs about immigrants would get more irritating and more real. Ive always been proud of being a Mexicano, i am proud of my roots and my identity. Being like that always got me in trouble when i would hear negative things about immigrants because i always had something to say. While in high school i was a member of the Puente program. When it came time to apply to colleges and or scholarships, the harsh reality of being an immigrant sinked in. while everyone applied for their favsas and other government appointed grants, i had to settle for smaller ones where there were masses of others competing for as much as they could to apply towards their college educations. At that point i started to get a bit discouraged about the whole college idea. Ive always been a good student, school was always one of my biggest interests, but hearing stories of people like me going above and beyond to get a degree and not being able to get a job in their field of study was an enormous tragedy. Not wanting to deal with all of that dissapointment i got a job after i graduated high school and working became my priority. I thought that making my own money and being independent would be much easier than trying achieve and education that at the time would not benifit me in any way to get a job, i had a rude awakening when i became a part of the immigrant work force of california.

In a society where a social security number gives you access to a drivers license, a cell phone contract and a job, things were beginning to be really hard for me. Asking others for favors like getting me a loan for a car or applying for a cell phone started to get old really fast. Driving with the fear of getting pulled over also took its toll on me. it seemed everywhere i turned and everything i tried to do was never going to be enough because of my status. Seeing others around me that were legal waste away their opportunity of going to college and getting an education really frustrated me. I would always ask myself, "why me?" "why couldnt i be one of the lucky ones to not have to deal with any of this?" Everything happens for a reason right? im still trying to find the reason for this.

After working countless jobs from burger joints to fire and water restoration, I finally found one where I could work without worrying about my status. Its not the best job in the world nor does it pay well and on top of that I have to put up with the constant verbal abuse of the oowner since he uses my status to his advantage, but its better than not having a job. i decided to go to college where i have been going part time since 2008. It hasnt been easy working full time and going to school, but i wont give up, or atleast not yet. When the defferred action was passed it seemed too good to be true. After all this time something in our favor comes along and gets approved. This is the only thing that i have that can change my life. The big break i have been waiting for since my junior year of high school. hopefully it all goes well and i get approved sooner rather than later. Hope is still alive within me. thanks to all that read this and thank you all of you that put in a lot of time and effort on this forum providing others with help and hope.

[aloola 11]

Hi Sotero! Thank you for sharing your story. It is always great to hear about people who decide not to give up after all. Good luck with everything you do! Change is just around the corner

[Serg4u 5]

i know how you feel. all my friends are losers who dont take advantage of being an american citizen

[erika020 87]

thanks for sharing your story with us!

I know how you feel, felt the same when I was in high school. It's really disappointing to see others that can, not taking advantage of the opportunities that are given to them :/

but don't ever give up!

[Rawf 336]

Welcome to the forum Sotero!

[sotero_gonzalez 54]

thanks everyone for your support. im glad i stumbled into this forum, wish i had sooner.

[sotero_gonzalez 54]

i know how you feel. all my friends are losers who dont take advantage of being an american citizen

yeah, here we are struggling to get a permit when thousands that are citizens throw their opportunities away. i know a lot of people from high school that are citizens that have either been in jail, doing drugs or in gangs. it all seems unfair when we stay out of trouble, try to go to school and still have to fight soo hard to get a permit.

[chrzt1an 14]

i can relate. right after high school, i got offered to go to school for graphic design in LA art school. but was not able to since i had no ssl. only god knows why

[Tonatiuh 12]

Totally know how u feel bro !!

High school I won't never forget that feeling all my classmates back then talking about what college they gonna go nd there was me hiding always trying to avoid their questions ...

Sad life of the immigrant in the USA

[sotero_gonzalez 54]

Totally know how u feel bro !!

High school I won't never forget that feeling all my classmates back then talking about what college they gonna go nd there was me hiding always trying to avoid their questions ...

Sad life of the immigrant in the USA

yeah, and this whole waiting forever for the permit isnt making it any easier.

[Minna 3]

I sure understand ur feeling.

And especially that me as mom cant and provide for her financially.

And not being able to study at the college u always wanted to study,

It was hard.

I just hate how 3 of my brothers that are actually born here dont do nothing with there lifes when us people from other country's,

Are the ones who want to work hard to get far in life and try our best but for us nothing is worth it if we are not

From the U.S .

Totally get how You Feel.

Thanks for sharing your story!!!

[michyx 3]

Thanks for sharing your story I'm pretty sure all of us in this forum can relate somewhat to your story. We didn't have a say coming into this world, God knows I've asked myself plentyyy of times as well "why me... why couldn't I just be like everyone else" but that's life. We have to make the best of things and definitely look at the positives. There are people in other countries living way way worse than us so lets count our blessings. DACA has been a tremendous big step for all of us and I pray that this is just the beginning. With all the talk about the immigration reform hopefully better things come our way. wish you the best