I Am...

I am Tania Lizeth Garcia Rangel.
I am an educated woman;
Future lawyer.
I am the future defendant of immigrants
And of civil rights!
I am the voice of those who simply don’t exist in this place.
I am the “lucky” one who has that voice.
I am strong, and independent.
Strong willed and perseverant.
I am a Latina;
But specifically, soy una Mexicana!
(and a proud one at that!)
I am the daughter of two hard working immigrants.
I am their hopes and dreams in the flesh.
I am the fruit of the hard work;
Their pride and joy.
I am their motivation .
I am the one,
For whom they give their all;
They choose to live a nightmare,
So that I can live a dream.
I am the one,
so precious in my mother’s eyes,
That she would leave behind
The hard fought,
And proudly won battle of an education.
I am the one in whom my mother thought,
When she left a professional career,
To come here,
And to be slowly killed
By those who saw her as a replaceable machine;
And as a mere liability when it broke.
I am the living, breathing reason for my parents’ sacrifice.