An Immigrant’s Vote Story By Godsmusicgeek

I was brought to the US at the age of four, from Mexico. My younger siblings were born here. My mother raised us to adapt to our surroundings; she taught us to assimilate. We blended in and luckily weren’t treated the way many immigrants are.

We were always changing schools, and I never knew why. Looking back, I guess it had something to do with how much rent would go up and how the neighborhoods would push out lower-income people like my family. Kids don’t pay attention to that stuff, and I didn’t give it any thought until later in life.

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When I started high school, things began to make sense. I didn’t excel in many classes. I was mostly into music and theater. I had a good History teacher, however, and it was in that class that I learned the most. They taught me about the realities and injustices of segregation, gentrification, and immigration. Naming these things and understanding their impact and power opened my eyes to how many events in my life had occurred.

I could suddenly understand some of the “whys” I had as a child. I woke up to the political battlefield surrounding me. I recognized how the many raging and chaotic conflicts and struggles of society had affected my family and the people around me. I gained awareness, but I still brushed off politics and just kept on living as any teenager does until I was faced with my first personal roadblock.

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I was naively looking forward to heading off to college after high school. There were many factors I didn’t understand about higher education, especially the financial one. I didn’t get why education was so expensive and why some students were given an easier path than others.

I had to face my own disadvantages: I was an illegal immigrant, and I didn’t qualify for any financial help to go to school. So, I had to work double. Even working posed a challenge; it was difficult to get hired without a Social Security number.

Wall after wall after wall began to build around me. I only had a few options: go back to Mexico, work in construction, or go into crime. Thankfully, my hard-working parents taught me great virtue and faith.

During Obama’s campaign, I started hearing more and more about affirmative action and equal opportunity for immigrants. He pledged to help immigrant students. I started feeling invested in Obama’s promises. I learned about the voting process and felt hopeful we—as a nation—could elect the man I saw as the Affirmative Action poster child.

It disappointed me that my legal status prevented me from voting, but I took it upon myself to encourage others to vote. I wanted to see Obama win because his policies would help me. When Obama took office, he kept his promises, and he helped make changes that made it possible for me to get into school. I still wasn’t eligible for financial aid, but my hard work and perseverance earned me prestigious certifications in Music and Education. My future opened, and I could get a good job and feel hopeful about my prospects.

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My family was concerned when Trump won the 2016 election. It felt like a loss because of his use of derogatory language towards my race. It felt hard to be taken seriously at work and in public where Trump supporters predominated.

I could have been angry and hateful in this situation, but I tried not to take it personally. I told myself that in politics it’s OK to have disagreements. I reminded myself to have faith that there’s always a greater good, even when things seem hopeless.

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In the weeks after the election, my workplace was uncharacteristically buzzing with political opinions. Staff and customers alike were voicing fears and concerns about our nation’s future.

Many of my co-workers are older and have a lot more life experience than me. Some co-workers schooled me about democracy. They shared their deep respect for our forefathers and their beliefs that the core values this country was built on would prevail. One man reminded us we were all given a voice with our vote. Another quoted Thomas Jefferson:

“I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.”

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There’s a greater good for everything. Trump’s presidency started a valuable dialog between strangers that echoed all over the world. We were all awakened to how much we need these types of dialogs, how divided we are. It has reminded us that there’s work to do. We have a responsibility to our democracy, our forefathers, our fellow citizens, and ourselves to take an active role in government. We have the power to make our own decisions and raise our voices. Let’s use this power for the betterment of our country and our future children. We must regain our trust in democracy and celebrate our freedom. To exercise this freedom, we must vote!

I’m a nurse and full time musician. I work 24/7 for the Lord, putting in the time to serve my community with various things. I consider my job to be part of my servitude to God because in every patient I care for I see Jesus and no matter what religion, political stand, sexual orientation or color of skin I treat them as human beings, with dignity and respect. I also perform and minister with music. This is who I am. I can’t seem to do anything else better than to serve others.