When I was a child I used to dream of coming to the United States.
People around me always talked a lot about that place. It was a
place for everyone, one of the best places to work, live and even
socialize. But all that was left was to wait to live those experiences that were
talked about and mentioned so often. Between my mother and I, we were
waiting years to come, but that opportunity never came until 2023.

But before having that opportunity that few have to leave their home coun-
try, planning the journey was one of the most exhausting processes. As it lasted so long and one of the most tragic years arrived and no one in thesebtimes of the pandemic (Covid-19) arrived, I did not know about any of it until a teacher told us about this virus that ended many lives in the world. Webonly thought that it was something temporary, that the feeling would comeband go once we arrived. But, classes closed, schools closed, jobs closed, and we could no longer have physical contact with people. I was creating an addiction to cleaning my hands. If not for my mother, I don’t know what would become of me. And what we thought would last months lasted years that
were eternal, and now those desires and ideas that I had about traveling,
ones my mother always told me, disappeared.

In 2021 I moved from the school I was in and went to a public school and met new friends. On that same date, I met a person who became an import-
ant piece of my life. We became something more than friends, but in No-
vember 2022 we received the news of the trip to the United States. My family was happy, but at the same time we knew that we would be separated for
a while. On February 11, 2023 in the early morning, we were at the airport
waiting. Everything changed when I left.

When I enrolled in school in the first days it was difficult to make new
friends since I did not feel comfortable at all. They were strangers to me as
I was to them. I couldn't socialize because I was shy the first few days. Over
time I adapted to some things at school and there I made more new friends.
From then on, the months I spent with new people became some of the best
months of my life.

In less than a month, on June 6th, we will finish school. We take advantage
of as much as we can before leaving, we look forward to our graduation. We
look forward to our lives.

© Roberto. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.