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Re: Arizona DREAMer, in memory of Ted Kennedy
Dear President Obama,
I know what the election of Scott Brown means for undocumented students; I learned from the late Mr. Kennedy.
When I was younger I took care of my younger sister while my mom was at work and my older sister was in school. At first, sadly, it was just a matter of making sure she ate and did not hurt herself. Then she started to become intolerably pestersome; always pulling at my shirt, walking in front of the television. She was bored. She did not enjoy the television as a normal child would and we did not have many toys; thus, I improvised. One thing we always had around the house, thanks to my mother’s occupation, was toilet paper. That’s right, my mother cleaned offices, and she brought home toilet paper that would otherwise be thrown away.
At first we just threw toilet-paper rolls at each other. Then we began building castles! They grew bigger and bigger. I remember her look of awe and mirth at the edifices she and her brother created. My sister still looks up to me. I graduated top of my class from a high-school in a low-income area. I graduated magna cum laude from Arizona State University. I was accepted to the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law; however, I could not continue any longer. Arizona requires undocumented students to pay out of state tuition, which I cannot afford. My sister’s look of admiration has turned to a look of disarray
Too many people have put the death nail on health care reform and other contested issues due to Scott Brown’s election. They say it will be harder to bring change. I need change. I need immigration reform and I need the DREAM Act. The foundation I am building for my future is strong yet fragile. It is toilet paper plastered with the hope of a better tomorrow, ready to endure any hits of what can be an unbearable present. I need change in my sister’s doubt-filled eyes; doubt that an education will give her a better future, that an education will give her an opportunity to stay in the only country she has ever known. I am not afraid, because I know I am not alone. Thousands of students are in my situation, students that continue fighting. I am not afraid, because I know change will come. You assured me of that and strengthened my hope that it will. Today I continue working towards my dreams and goals against all obstacles.
I know what Scott Brown’s election means for undocumented students. It means the same for us as for all other Americans that work hard every day to make this country stronger. What Scott Brown’s election, and the election of any other politician that can be an impediment towards progress if he or she so chooses, means to me, my sister, DREAMers, and every other American can only be conveyed through the late words of Ted Kennedy: "The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die."
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