Many first-year college students struggle with choosing their major. Maybe it's too difficult, or maybe it was just boring. Whatever the reasoning, things like this happen often to new college students, and its not really a huge deal. All you have to do is get a formed signed and then you’re done.
For me however, it was different.
Ever since I was a child, I always knew what I wanted to be: a lawyer. Besides thinking that the world of law and politics is the most fascinating thing in the world to me, there’s also a huge underlying reason on why I feel that I need to project myself into that lifestyle.
Since I wasn't born in the United States, my experience with Americanisms were very limited. I moved from France in 2006 when I was 7-years-old, and I was thrown into an entirely different world. I could barely speak English, and school was always hard for me. Learning to articulate English, as well as speak it on such a fast track was one of the hardest things I had to do in my life, but I obviously managed. There are times where my native speaking friends forget English isn’t even my first language.
Despite getting past learning the language, there was always this huge, underlying problem when it came to us immigrants. I didn't realize it as a child since my parents didn't make it such a big deal, but I came to see that not being born in the US is a huge problem for many naturalized US citizens. There have been times where my parents have been turned down leases on apartments or living spaces because owners would think they were “unreliable" due to their birth status.
It’s things like that that gave me that drive and energy to become what I am today. My family always lived in constant fear of deportation, only because their children were not technically US citizens. I always considered myself a citizen since I moved here at such a young age, and while I wasn’t technically, I grew up with mostly American customs, may it be American TV shows to the music here. It’s my actual birth status that separates me and the rest of my peers.
As I grew older, I began to see my family's fear of being torn from what they worked for here. Just recently, my boyfriend met my parents, and upon him asking my dad something about the country he was from, my dad attempted to side step the conversation.
Things like that, are what we need to change.
I am currently enrolled as a double major, political science, and philosophy. With that, I want to be a lawyer, and after a few years push myself into Congress. I’ve been told that I am an overachiever with huge, probably irrational goals. To the people who think that, I agree with them. Maybe it may seem far fetched, but from what I've experienced, I don’t think I’ll ever give up.
The reason I’m writing this article is basically to point more attention to things like racism and extreme nationalism across the country I stand in today. No one should ever feel that they can’t talk about where they came from just because of fear of being kicked out.
My major is important to me because I truly feel I can make a difference. I have a friend who called me “Ms. Save the World” once. Although I may not be saving the world, I feel like that with my aspirations and goals, I can make at least a few minor changes. There’s never any harm in trying.
