Things Couldn't Get Worse
That optimism was soon put to the test again. She came to find out that not only did her husband get arrested for drugs, but he also owed money to the wrong people. She was confronted one day at her home by a man who was demanding her to pay him back the $8,000 her husband owed him. Isabel kept telling him she didn’t know what he was talking about. He held a gun to her head and demanded his money. She begged and pleaded. Her daughter was in the next room playing, and she was scared the man would hurt her. Isabel had gone through a lot in her life, but for the first time, she had more fear than she had ever had. Isabel agreed to pay him the money back regardless if she owed it to him or not.
She took on a second full-time job to pay the man back. In the mornings she would work at Turpack, a food packing plant. She would hurry home in time to cook dinner, take a shower and get ready for her night shift as a janitor at Gateway. All her Gateway paychecks went to that man until every cent her husband owed was paid back
Worn Out
Isabel was getting tired of being alone in America. All the suffering seemed endless. It seemed she would overcome one hurdle just to meet up with another one. But she would remember her struggles back in Mexico and realized that she was better off here in the States. Isabel has still gone through many hardships but has not given up once. She has kept moving forward. She looks back at her life, and it makes her realize she can do anything. Failure stopped being an option a long time ago.
This women’s story is the same as other immigrants in many ways whether it’s crossing a desert in Mexico, drifting from a raft from Cuba, boarding a ship from the Middle East or taking a ship from England across the ocean to come to America. They are driven by the same dream: the dream to be free from oppression and given an oppor-tunity to do better in life. The law says they are not considered to be part of this country, but I consider these people fighting for freedom and a better tomorrow, American. For this is America. The only nation made up of a melting pot of people who are different from their skin color, religion, to their beliefs. America. The land of opportunity.
"She was ready to conquer anything and anybody that got in her way."
Nwosu, Chiamaka, Jeanne Batalova, and Gregory Auclair. "Frequently Requested
Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States." Migration Policy Institute. Migration Policy Institute, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
Everton, Margaret. "Spectacular Oakland Views & Lush Hillsides? Yes, Please." CalFinder. CalFinder, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2015
Lee, Jim. "Sioux City Skyline." Sioux City Journal. Sioux City Journal, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.
Islas, Alejandro. "Ciudad.Mexico City Distrito Federal D.F. Paseo Reforma Skyline." Wikimedia Commons. MediaWiki, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015
Photography By
Everton, Margaret
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