American Girl

“I’m a DACA student and I graduated college debt-free. Right now I’m working at a library where I coordinate English classes for 6 of our branches. It’s just me and my parents and we moved here from Ecuador in 2002, when I was 7. ”

“There’s always been a lot of pressures that I’ve put on myself. It’s been a lot of stress and anxiety. I am an only child and if my parents weren’t here I don’t know what I would do, I depend on them so much. They’re my emotional support. My mom tells me to trust God and believe me, I do, but seeing what’s happening these days it’s really hard to not feel anxious. How am I supposed to be OK?

How do I take care of myself? I’m not really sure, I don’t really take days off, haha, but at the library I work with ELL (Engligh Language Learner) students, so in a way I feel better when I help them get the resources and information they need to advocate.”

“Everyone was getting their licenses and talking about getting cars and I was just like “uhh yeah, it’s just easier for my dad to drop me off.” I couldn’t explain that it wasn’t an option, that I wasn’t allowed. But then DACA happened and I could get my license. It was a freedom that I didn’t even know I was missing. ”

“...If you’re not religious, you’re going to think I’m crazy. I was at a retreat and I was praying for help. “God, not just for me, but for everyone.” I remember hearing this voice in my head tell me “Don’t worry., everything is going to be OK.” Two weeks later I got a call that there was DACA. I remember falling to my knees and just thanking God “this is what you were talking about. This is it.” It meant a lot to me then, but it doesn’t always feel like that now. I’m not a US Citizen. Are they going to try to take me away? It’s something I have to think about. ”