The Fear of Saying Goodbye by Sarah

The Fear of Saying Goodbye by Sarah - April 2024 Scholarship Essay

I am a social activist at heart. Since a young age, I have always felt the need to stand up for others and speak out whenever I noticed issues in my surrounding area. I am also a child of two hispanic immigrants and, although I will never come to fully understand the difficulties they have faced throughout their time in this nation, I am aware of the various issues this country has when it comes to identity. I strive towards attending college in order to, not only address these problems but, fix these problems that have been tainting our community.

When I was around nine years old, I witnessed my grandmother be deported firsthand. At first, I did not understand what was happening. I had been excused from school early which, while I was excited, confused me. My mother had not warned me about getting picked up early and I did not have any doctor's appointments as far as I knew. It was not until we reached the baptist hospital downtown that I was told the short tale of how my grandmother randomly collapsed from having a heart attack. Reminder, I was young. Heart attacks, depressing visits to the hospital, all of these dramatic themes were things I only witnessed in the telenovelas my mother and grandmother watched together.

Sadly, while she was being treated, it was discovered that her permit in order to visit the United States had expired. The doctors explained to us that she could either sit in a cold and barren detention center while officials mulled over her permit or she get a day's worth of uninsured treatment and then be transported back to Mexico shortly after. Immigration laws were harsher at the time, though I could not understand what that meant. It was not an easy concept to explain to a child; that her grandmother was to be treated like a criminal for a simple mistake in a time of desperate need. My mother, of course, worried for the health of her own mother had decided to keep her in the hospital for a short while before they had to inevitably say goodbye.

My grandmother is much better now, thankfully. Though that is not a common case for other families. At the same time, while my grandmother was being treated at a hospital, mothers, children, elders and millions of others like us were being detained, imprisoned and abused. While the events that played out that day were traumatic to say the least, we were one of the lucky few who did not lose a family member. Due to the laws in place, families have been viciously ripped apart, people have been murdered, and other innocent people have been imprisoned.

Soon, I will be the first in my family to attend college in this country and although it has not been an easy journey, I stay determined. I am not working towards achieving a degree just for myself; this picture is much larger than just me. I work towards success for my mother, my father, my grandparents, the refugees, their children, the people in prison, the people who never made it past the border, the people whose blood permanently paints the bricks this country was built on. I work towards a future where children of immigrants never have to bear the fear of being excused from class early in order to say goodbye.