The (Latin) American Dream

With U.S.' Independence Day having just passed by, it's time to visit the ideal called the “American Dream” in which bravery, hard work, determination, and sacrifice can lead to a better life. Do these people represent the “American Dream?”

-Omaira Pedraza Heakin- a “bilingual CPA” who came to the U.S. from Colombia and “became a citizen (in 2004) because I am thinking this is a great country, great opportunity for anybody, regardless of your belief, regardless of what is your skin color”.

-Dan El-Padilla Peralta- this year’s commencement speaker at Princeton University who kept a 3.9 grade point average and hopes to study at Oxford University in spite of his illegal immigrant status.

-Paola Castro- a recent high school graduate with a 4.01 GPA and will start school at UCLA this fall after having immigrated from Nicaragua four years ago.

-Guillermo Paniagua- a U.S. Army specialist who received his citizenship this week while stationed in Iraq.

-Catherine Reyes- this year’s commencement speaker at the University of Massachusetts-Boston who emphasized in her speech how we should “strive to preserve the unique heritages that each of us contributes to society as a whole.”

For some, the “American Dream” is impossible to reach and just an ephemeral, silly, and abstract notion. Yet if you read the tales of the people mentioned above, then it would definitely seem that this “Dream” is attainable and a true inspiration for those yearning for a better life.

(Image depicts mural by Xavier Cortada called “Stepping into the American Dream.”)

latin america, immigration, united states, American dream