Back to Reality

DREAM was shot down on a Saturday. I had a day to reorganize and pick up where my life had left off before this huge campaign. I participated in an act of binge drinking that Saturday night which led to my entire Sunday hungover. Fever included. But, I received a call from Eric, a tennis coach at Royal Palm Tennis Club. He asked if I wanted to come in on Monday to work the Holiday Tennis Camp and I said "Sure, I need the money." So, in an instant I was back in reality.

I showed up at Royal Palm early Monday morning at 9:30 AM ready to teach some tennis, just as I had done the past two summers working there. But, things didn't feel the same. At least not in my head. I said "Hello" and "Happy Holidays" to everyone out of respect to the season that we were in, but I felt different.

It was as if I was at a crossroads. As if I had just traveled from the two polar opposites of the spectrum. I had gone from dark to light. Black to white. Forty-eight hours prior to Monday I was in one of the biggest moments of my life in the company of friends in the same struggle for equality, social justice, and human dignity. But, there I was. Monday, December 20th about to teach a "white-collar" sport to kids and teenagers who did not even have the slightest, remote chance of what the DREAM Act was or what was going on in the world around them. All they were worried about was the latest iPhone app or what their precious, wealthy parents were going to buy them for Christmas this time around. Do you think for a moment that they bothered to turn on the TV in the past couple of days and know what a "lame-duck" session in Congress actually was? Or meant? No. Hell no, actually. That goes to the rest of the coaches at Royal Palm too though. No way they knew what was going on or if they had maybe caught some of the latest news.

What solidified my thoughts even more though was a greeting from one of the maintenance guys at Royal Palm. Hugo, a short, gray-haired Venezuelan in his late 50s I would say, comes up to me and says "You looked great on TV Adrian!" In Spanish, of course. "Something has to happen, the DREAM thing has to pass for you kids," he continues. I smile back and respond, "Yeah, hopefully, but it is going to be tough."

But, that right there was evidence enough to me that my life is a type of oxymoron. An undocumented, dark-skinned, dark-haired Chilean in his early 20s living in Miami, FL. Living in America from the age of three, practically all American except where it matters the most. In the books. So, I had to get my words on paper. In this case, typed up. It was the only way to clear my head.

So far, it has helped tremendously. I have been able to assimilate back into society as best as possible, and have enjoyed this Holiday break at its fullest extent. I will continue the daily grind of life and will continue to work for equality, justice, dignity, and happiness for all the people in America living in our current struggle.

I also hope that I continue this blogging and that procrastination does not win another battle against me. At least not in this arena. The arena of social networking. Until next time, chao.