An Undocumented Letter of Confession.

To all my dear friends:

What I’m about to tell you will hopefully change the way you think about some things, but I hope it doesn’t change what you think about me. I’ve heard you talking about them not knowing that I’m one of them. Every time you talk about them, you’re also talking about me. You may tell your friends I don't speak English not knowing that we’ve talked over the phone for hours, you can say I'm a barbarian when you and me were the only ones polite enough to shovel Mrs. Johnson’s driveway on the winter, you can say I’m evil not knowing that we go to church together, you can say I'm a bad influence after convincing you to go back to college, you can label me as ignorant even after getting the higher score in the class, you can say that we have nothing in common and not have the slightest idea that we play tennis for the same team, you can say that no one will remember me if I leave not knowing that we went to prom together, you can say that I'm only brown not knowing that I can be as pale as the image you see in the mirror every morning, you can say I'm ugly not knowing that you had a crush on me since high school, you can proclaim yourself to be my worst enemy not knowing that we played together as kids, you can say I'm all about mariachi & salsa and be unaware that we were just a few seats apart during the last U2 concert, you can believe that I live in the "hood" and not know that I'm your favorite neighbor, you can try to sell me all the baggy pants and muscle shirts you want not knowing that we been shopping together at American Eagle, A&F, Express, and Hollister for years, you can call yourself a patriot for kicking me out of the country not knowing I was under your command in the military, you can say I don’t assimilate the culture not knowing that you and me celebrate the 4^th of July and not May 5^th, you can say I’m very aggressive not knowing that we marched together for peace, you can say that I’m a disappointment and not remember that I was your favorite student, you can think of me as a stranger, an illegal alien, a criminal, and someone indifferent to you not knowing that the bonds between us are a lot stronger than any form of hate or xenophobia. My sincere apologies to all of you for I'm partially responsible for this problem: I'm illegal; I just never had the courage to tell you! I love you guys! I hope that the way you think about illegal immigrants changes in a positive way. I also hope that you will stand by me now that I need you more than ever. I have to fight for my rights and I need your support! I’ve always been there for you, but this time I’m the one who needs help.