So close...yet SO far.

            Finally, second semester of my Junior year. Last semester of my Junior year. I'll be a Senior later this year, and I must confess, the feeling is rather bittersweet. I know it's my last year, and I should be having fun, ENJOYING it and whatnot..but I'll leave that to the "normal" kids. I have so much to worry about. I'll get it together, I mean it. I'm getting what I'm shooting for!, hard work pays off no matter if you're legal or undocumented. Everyday I meet straight A undocumented student, but they're not hopeless. In fact, they know where they're going, they know their purpose. And so do I. I love this country with all my heart, and I know no other "home". I've decided that after I graduate, I want to go off and study in Europe, Legally of course. Some people may think this dream is not realistic, but it is to me, very much. I am convinced that I can achieve a lot here even with my status, but I'd be at peace the day I can be treated like everyone else, like the other kids!. I know it'll happen some day, and my moving to Europe doesn't mean I've given up hope. Traveling has been one of my life long dreams, which explains why I wanted to join the Military, of course to serve my country, but for traveling as well. This is not just and epiphany. Back to the how things are going now. Everything has been pretty great, I passed all of my classes first semester, and I already can't wait to get this one over with!. I live with the satisfaction that I can honestly say, everyday I learn something new. You can never be done with learning, life itself is a learning experience. Education is important, and I never plan on taking it for granted, and neither should you!, we all have so much potential, it's saddening to see how you quit. I myself have those moments in which I just want to leave it all..give it all away, but then I remind myself of how amazing my life would be if I keep going!. Think about it. Say this to yourself,

 THE MORE I LEARN, THE MORE I GROW. Do you want to stop growing?

Thanks for reading.

        Karen (: 

The "Akward" Moment when Someone Asks you if you're Legal..

I'm pretty sure we've all been asked if we're "from here" at least once. I know the feeling.Sometimes we care TOO much about what others will say, and that's fine..Sometimes we feel like we should lie just so we won't get the bad judgement that comes with saying the truth. I know, and I understand that it's not easy to say "I am undocumented", but trust me, it feels better once you "Come out", you learn that the ones that are your true friends, won't judge you..and they might even offer to help.People will judge no matter what, but we should all learn to to ignore it, which is also hard to do.One thing everyone should know is that, it is NOT our fault that we're in this devastating situation..remember, you CAN always make the best out of a bad situation. I've seen, and even met a lot of successful undocumented dreamACT eligible students, or graduated students, for that matter.Their stories MOTIVATE me to keep going, and fight for what I want!.Legalization will not happen overnight, it takes a lot of people to speak UP to make it happen. Do you think that if African Americans didn't go out and performed all sorts of Civil Disobedience, they would have all the rights they have today?, I don't think so , It's going to take a lot of  DREAMers to make it happen, so if you haven't come out, I highly recommend you make it known TODAY, share your story, get to people, touch hearts. You never know how BIG of an impact your story could make in this movement. We need more help, support. More spirit. Always remind yourself that theirs thousands of other people in your situation, and you're not alone, and you never will be. If you're going through a tough time, contact a DREAMact organization, they're great help and great motivators!. Never give up. DREAM BIG.

-Karen

UPDATES!

   I'm not quite sure how many people actually read my blogs..well it really doesn't matter because I write for myself, to get things out of my head that I don't like to talk about openly, most of the time.First of, I haven't shared my blog with any of my friends, but I will soon, shortly after this blog. Furthermore, I wanted to share with you my joy of finally becoming a photographer!, a dream I probably didn't share with you on here. I've always wanted to be a photographer and maybe have my own studio someday, and finally, one step of that dream has become true!. On December 18th, My (17th Birthday), My dad gave me a Camera (NIKON)..I couldn't believe it! I had  been asking for a camera for so LONG, and finally, I got it!. What do I plan on doing?. I've already started taking photos, I am now building my portfolio and will soon be making money out of this!, In a year or so , I will soon open up my own studio!, I could not have done this without all of my supportive friends and family that surround me. I am very grateful , and It's true..If you want something with a passion..you'll get it, so Don't lose hope, everything happens at its own perfect time. Being impatient is not an option. Don't give up!. 
I hope everyone has a great holiday season!. And lets see what the new year will bring to us DREAMers, I have a good feeling about this!.

                

Plans after Graduation?...

     Even though I'm a Junior in High School, I'm already thinking about my plans after graduation, which I think it's a pretty smart thing to do. I honestly believe I have many opportunities, but those opportunities COST a lot of money. At the end of my Junior year I will be applying to many scholarships, I was recommended to sign up for private scholarship, because they don't really care about your citizenship status (most of them). I've had so many great people give me advise and share great ideas with me, one which is a good friend I met through the JROTC program,  I sincerely look up to this guy,  He's also an undocumented student like myself, Last school year he graduated and had earned up to 5 (ish) Scholarships, maybe more..I'm not sure, But the thing is, He's a prime example of WHY we need change, because people like him, deserve it.  He's now in College , Living a normal "college" kid life...without the expenses!, He shared with me all of his scholarship resources, which I truly appreciate!. My friend is not "open" about his status in this country, and has asked me not to tell anyone. With that being said, I'm still stuck and I can't figure out what I want to do when I graduate....well, it's not that I don't know, I just can't choose, It's driving crazyyyyy!, Theirs so much I want to do, and honestly I think I can be all I want to be, despite my legal status. In the end, I know I'll make a wise choice and won't regret it. 

                                    -Karen Salinas

    Here are a list of websites for scholarship Info (hope they help)
                      (tip: Some franchises i.e McDonalds offer scholarships---google anything you can think of!)

• http://www.collegeboard.org/-Info about colleges that fit your criteria/SAT practice,info/Scholarships/
• http://www.cfnc.org -College planning/scholarships/etc (Highly recommended) 

Is it really worth dying for?- Joaquin Luna (DREAMer)

Hi!, so I haven't blog in a week or two..well I usually don't anyway.

Today I want to talk about a story I read about yesterday, I'm sure all of the DREAMer community know about, it's the story of Joaquin Luna, who took his life this past Friday November 25th. Why did he do it?. That was the shocking part, It broke my heart when I read that he took his life because of his legal status here in the U.S. Like me, Joaquin was a Dream act qualified student, but he was afraid things were never going to change, and the his future here was not promising. I believe this will at least bring sympathy to all of those senators etc, who don't want to vote for the Dream Act. This story is very touching , yet hurtful. No one should have to go through something like that, last time I heard. This does not make America look like a country of "opportunity" , but like a country that lives in fear!. My situation is tough , but I know their thousands of people my age going through the same trauma, and I am not alone!, yes Joaquin should've probably talked to somebody about the way he felt this would've changed everything, but unfortunately, we can't go  back in time and change this unfortunate event, all we can do is learn from it, we all need to come together and make the best out of this situation, because it's not going to be FOREVER.  It will be fixed. If you're feeling the same way Joaquin felt, please don't lose hope. It is not dying for, it's worth FIGHTING for. Don't give up! hang in there.

Why does it take FOREVER!!

Is it a teen thing,?...thinking everything takes forever to either happen, or come to an end. Well..I think I just defined: Impatience. I've become so impatient over the years.  I feel as though I can't wait for something to happen. CHANGE for instance. They say that when we're impatient, things actually do take long to happen. I totally agree with that theory. But being impatient is something we sometimes can't seem to grow out of. I wish I could stop being so impatient, and just wait for things to happen. Like my parents say "todo su tiempo", theirs an appropriate time for everything, you just have to sit back and wait...Don't get me wrong, theirs certain things I can actually wait patiently for.My point being, Patience is a virtue we all do not posses, and it's okay, sometimes.  I personally think the group of people with more impatience are high school students. I think you all agree with this. High School students, specially seniors , cannot wait 10 months to graduate!. Well, I'm a junior right now, and I'm so ready to graduate and begin my life on the outside!. I think it's the excitement of the situation that makes us impatient. But at the end of the day, waiting for things to happen PATIENTLY pays off, the excitement lasts longer. perhaps, the situation itself lasts longer as well. So sit back, and wait patiently...well at least try. And if you feel as if you won't ever accomplish anything, think again!, waiting is all it takes. Things will never come before you magically. Hard work pays off.

Dream Big, Smile Big

 Often times, we find ourselves in really depressing situations. Sometimes you ask yourself questions, like..where do I go from here?. I actually ask myself that question WAY TOO MUCH. but I make sure I have an answer for that at the end of the day. This week our JROTC department  invited two U.S Army recruiters to be our guest speakers for the day. They were really nice and gave out lots of information. When they were done talking and whatnot, they had passed a piece of paper and a pen, and passed it around the classroom, in the paper you were supposed to write whether you were interested in enlisting or not. I of course, didn't think twice. I wrote my name, and beside my name I wrote "Interested". After that I had given them my address and all of my information to have them come over and talk with me about enlisting etc. After I wrote down all my info. I told one of them "I really REALLY really want to enlist, but they won't let me..." he replied "well..what do you mean they won't let you?" , Is said "Ugh, I know they won't let me and I don't know why I'm still trying, but it's because I'm not a citizen/resident", he told me that to enlist, you needed a GREEN CARD, he told me that and walked away. I felt horrible, I knew that I needed all of that to enlist BEFORE, I just went ahead and still tried to get around enlisting somehow, at the end of the day I tried.  And this made me think , "what is it that I'm doing next?" , "what's my next move?" . Well, joining the Army isn't my only choice. I also want to become a flight attendant, they have great aviation schools in Spain, I can do that right? , "I can go back to my country , and TRY to come back with a student visa", pshh...why can't I just get married with a U.S citizen/resident?, yea...it'll be years before he can legalize me, is that right? . At the end of the day , I realized that it's NOT the end of the world for me, CHANGE will happen, when we least expect it. Hopefully by the time I graduate, we DREAMers will have some rights around here!. Another question that comes to mind all the time. "Why can't I serve MY country?"...Yes it's my country, You can say whatever you want, Nothing will change that. Baby, I'm home.