Jonathan Salazar Rivera


I arrived at this country with nothing but the clothes I was wearing and the American Dream, at the tender age of nine. I was told back in my Mexico, success will fall right on your lap as soon as you made it across. That however, was a myth and I grew up believing what my brother once told me, ” You will be a peon, just like our dad and his father before him”.
I was never conformed, and I wanted to make a change in the world but my roots, status and cultural paradigm was holding me back. I decided to go against the odds, and became the first in my family to attend college. A lot of doors were shut in my face, but my determination opened many others. Repealing HB1403 won’t be the end for aspiring Dreamers, but it will be a major setback that will only push many of them to conformity. Conformity to believe that because our ethnicity or status we are destined for second class citizenship, and we are destined to keep cleaning, building and serving those who believe in keeping the foreign kids in line with the whip of oppression,and chains of segregation. I do not detest anyone who holds different views, but ask them to try to fill our shoes for just a moment to realize that many of us love America, and the only thing we want is an opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities and make the star-spangled banner shine brighter than ever.