What do you believe in? I believe that you can do what you think is right, that it doesn’t matter where you come from. If you haven’t done anything wrong, you can stay where you want to stay.
I started thinking like this when I was twelve years old and I saw how people treated immigrants in the United States differently, just because they had a different color of skin, a different language, and because they were born on a different country.
I believe that you don’t have to be critical because of where you come from, but it seems like not all people know that. Last year, I was walking down the street when I saw two boys saying racist comments to two Hispanic kids, things like,
“ Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be with your immigrant friends? Go back to Mexico you immigrants.”
It hurt me so much that I just stood up to them. I was so mad that I told them, “You don’t have to say those things to them. This is a free country. But by saying this to them, you are saying that it’s not.” I started to panic—my emotions bubbled up in my throat, and I felt that if we didn’t have the right to walk around the streets without people saying things to people who were Hispanic, then they shouldn’t expect us to work for them for less than minimum wage.
They responded with, “Well it’s only free for people who are from the U.S.A. not for stupid Mexicans.”
One of the guys who was Hispanic told me to calm down and I yelled at him in Spanish.
My friend told me that we needed to go home, and we did. By the time we got home, I was covered in tears and really frustrated. I didn’t tell my dad about the incident, but my friend did.
My dad got really mad at me because he said I might get in trouble because I was Mexican too. I know he was right, but deep inside me I knew I had done the right thing by standing up for Hispanics. After that, my dad has been supporting me with me with my dream of being an immigration lawyer.
At school, I get a lot of support from my teachers. They tell me that I should study hard so I can help all of the people who are immigrants and are treated differently because of what they are and were they come from.
I believe that I can make a big difference in this country just by studying really hard and by trying my best to help people. All of those cases in the Immigration Reform inspired me to try and be a lawyer.
I believe that coming from another country makes me stronger to help these people in need because I know how hard it is to be looked at differently. I believe that you should look at people the same way that you want them to look at you. I believe that all of us are the same inside because we are all human beings. I believe that I can make a difference in the world I see people for who they are not by their nationality
By:
Estefania Ortiz