A Dream Come True!

My journey to become a US citizen started when my mom filed residency applications with the INS for her 4 youngest children in the mid 1970’s when I was only but a child growing up in Tijuana Mexico. It took a long 10 years for us to receive our legal residency of this country but when we did, it as a time of relief and celebration.

The law states a resident must be living in the US continuously for a period of 5 consecutive years before a citizenship request can be made. As soon as I qualified for citizenship I applied and it was not very long before I was summoned for the first part of the process, an interview to show my proficiency in English and US history/government. Since I had graduated from college not to long from this time, I trusted my memory to pass both tests only to find out I would fail the history test. I was angry and very disappointed for being so overconfident and full of my self. It would take another 10 years before I would have the same opportunity and meet the requirements to become a US Citizen. In 2006 I finally found my self raising my right hand swearing to uphold all this beautiful country, which had received me with open arms, stands for.

My fist act of citizenship was registering to vote. History had showed me the trials and tribulations of many who suffered for the right to this patriotic act. I also had pondered how many of our soldiers past and present had not only put their lives on hold and risk but also paid the ultimate price for this very democracy. Voting in my mind was not only a duty and responsibility but also a privilege passed on to us by many patriots.

Tuesday January 29, 2008 I voted for the first time. It was my turn to make a difference and be a part of the shaping of this beautiful country. I’ve not felt so much anticipation to participate in something as I did that day. It was only a party primary and Florida amendment vote but who can minimize this event to a man who came from a foreign and humble beginning to this country who dreamed early on of one day being a part of the very fabric that makes this country our America the Beautiful.

You see like me there are many who leave their place of origin looking for a better prosperous life…exactly what this country makes a provision for as our founding fathers proclaimed in the declaration of Independence……..
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
We might look a little different, speak with a funny accent, have strange traditions and difficult names to pronounce, but deep inside we are driven by the desire to be a part of something grand, a part of the very dream our founding fathers had.