Foreign Dream Anonymous

My family and I immigrated to the United States when I was just seven years old. Although it was very hard for my parents to leave their home and family behind in El Salvador, they were motivated to give me and my siblings a better life in the United States. Knowing that my parents made so many sacrifices to give me a better life, I have always strived to do well in school because going to college has always been my American Dream While I have always been motivated by the desire to succeed and provide for my family, it was really what I left behind in El Salvador that has always given me my purpose in life and motivated me to strive academically.

When I was a child in El Salvador, I knew many children my age who lived on the streets and starved every day. Poverty was all around me, and unfortunately, not much has changed today. Education has never been a priority in El Salvador. Public schools charge a yearly fee, which many families simply cannot afford. In addition, public schools lack basic materials for students, which means their parents have to pay for them. This is a tremendous burden for poor families because most of the population makes as little as pennies per hour and must save every bit they make to simply feed their...