Believing That You Can
easy. Over there you have to fight and prove that you are
able to keep a job all the time. One day, my husband was
deployed to Bosnia and I was living with my mother-in-law
in a small city. Everything was new to me, so I wanted
really badly to keep myself busy and had an idea to go to
the State College in Chattanooga, Tennessee. There I spoke
to the director of the language department and asked her to
take me as a volunteer to teach Spanish or do something. I
knocked on a door and a woman told me to come in. I told
her that I was a professional, new in town, and I wanted to
keep myself busy while my husband was completing his
mission overseas. She listened to me and wrote my name
and phone number. One week later I got her call asking me
to come and work for her teaching Spanish with pay. She
never asked me for my social security number nor did she
ask for my diplomas, she just trusted me and believed my
words and gave me that opportunity. This is why I love this
country, my country. When doing my best, good things
happen in return.
Sandra Calsetta is a student at Miramar Branch Library English Cafe-
Broward County Libraries.
My Unexpected American Dream
The American dream has a different meaning for
everybody. However, for me it means the opportunity to be
whomever I want and the feeling of being safe. I clearly
remember the day when my mother and my uncle said,
“You have to go the USA because you deserve a better
future.” When they said that, I started hating them because
all I wanted was to stay in my country (Honduras) with my
friends and my family. It’s difficult for anybody to come to
a country where the language, the culture, and the people
are completely different. When I came here, all I did was
cry and cry and hated my mother for what I thought she did
to my life. But after the time passed, I realized that what she
did was the best for me. Now, I have five years of being in
this country. It is not easy to have whatever I want, but who
said it would be easy? I thank my mother because all she
wanted was her daughter to succeed. The beauty of this
country is that it brings you a lot of opportunities. The