My feet is tired, but my soul is rested.

Dear friends and supporters,

Today, we are going to witness a defining moment in history in our lives.


On January 1st, 2010, four passionate young immigrant students from Florida will walk 2,000 mile and 4-month long journey to rewrite the American History. These bravery students will begin to walk from Florida to Washington D.C. to bring sense of urgency to solve our broken immigration system. They are demanding President Obama to stop the separation of families and deportation of DREAMers. Most importantly, they want to see just and humane immigration reform that includes equal access to education, an end to the separation of families, worker’s rights, and a pathway to citizenship. By May 1st, 2010, they hope to stand in the U.S. Capitol with thousands of people across from the states to rally for the comprehensive immigration reform.

I want to share one of the four walker’s story, Gaby, who truly inspired me and thousands of other people in this country.

Gaby moved to Miami at the age of seven. Gaby holds an Associate of Arts degree in Music Education, and an Associate of Science in Early Childhood Education, as well as a BA in Exceptional Education Degree K-12 from Miami Dade College. She was the Student Government Association President at the Kendall Campus of Miami Dade College and the Florida Junior Community Colleges Student Government Association President in 2005-2006, representing 1.1 million students throughout Florida. Since 2003, she has been an advocate for the DREAM Act and in-state tuition and was one of the founding members of S.W.E.R. Gaby is a woman that would give the clothes on her back to help someone who needs it more. She walks for all the children without a voice and is willing to sacrifice herself to pave the way for their future because she believes in the power of love. She also believes that “the meltdown of our society will not start with global warming rather with intellectual freezing," and she “can’t understand why we continue to detain young vibrant students when we know that we only live once and the future depends on the youth.” She walks because in her heart she knows that faith without action is dead!

Our task is clear and simple, we have to make these student’s dreams into reality. We must, because their dream is our dream, and their future is our future. We must, because if alone, can’t reach the final destination. They are calling us in California, they need our help. We may not be able to walk with them physically, but we can surely help them in many different ways. There are several ways we can help the students: 1. Fund-raise 2. In solidarity, fast and walk in our home base. 3. Visit trailofdreams.com to show our support. These are the ways to help them to achieve its goal, but there are plenty of other ways to help them as well. With that being said, I’m determined – I’m determined to sacrifice and risk myself to help them. However, my sacrifice is far beyond the measure from these bravery students, but I want to show in solidarity of support and I want to be part of making a history in 2010.

So then, my question is, will you sacrifice with them? I believe through sacrifice is the only way to make our dreams into reality. Imagine how difficult for them to make a decision to sacrifice their education, their time, and their own body. They are completely exposing and risking themselves just to represent on behalf of 12 million immigrant’s dreams. Despite of all the odds and challenges, they are willing to fight for the dreams that will determine our future. Through this movement, I can clearly see the sense of urgency. They cannot wait, I cannot wait, and we as DREAMers cannot wait for another decades to fix the broken immigration system. We cannot wait and time is now! I can see it, I can see it. So let’s make these student’s dreams into reality.

The time is critical and the opportunity is near, we must act as if 2010 will be the last chance for us. So let us sacrifice our needs and show our strength to reach our dreams. During a President Election campaign, Obama gave a great speech in the day before the Martin Luther King’s Holiday Day. He said, “Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone. In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone. In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone. In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone. So I ask you to walk with me, and march with me, and join your voice with mine, and together we will sing the song that tears down the walls that divide us, and lift up an America that is truly indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all.” Again, this movement shouldn't be just four students alone. This is not a Florida’s action; this is a national wide action to fulfill our dreams.

2010 is going to be a special year for all of us. It is the year that we don’t need to just dream, it is the year that we will make our dreams into reality. It will be the year that we will celebrate together and begin a new chapter for our lives.

I want to close out with speech that Martin Luther King Jr. gave during civil rights movement’s era. Dr. Martin Luther King spoke to this fatigue the week after the Selma March in a message titled "Our God is Marching On. "We have walked through desolate valleys and across the trying hills. We have walked on meandering highways and rested our bodies on rocky byways. Some of our faces are burned from the outpourings of the sweltering sun. Some have literally slept in the mud. We have been drenched by the rains. Our bodies are tired and our feet are somewhat sore. But today as I stand before you and think back over that great march, I can say, as Sister Pollard said—a seventy-year-old Negro woman who lived in this community during the bus boycott—and one day, she was asked while walking if she didn’t want to ride. And when she answered, "No," the person said, "Well, aren't you tired?" And with her ungrammatical profundity, she said, "My feet is tired, but my soul is rested."

My prayer goes out to four bravery students walking Florida to Washington D.C.

Sincerely,
-Ju

This is...amazing. Seriously.
If I didn't have school, I would completely undertake this journey. You guys, 2010 is OUR YEAR. Lets push for this reform!

aw man, had to write a 10 page paper on the book once upon a time.

didn't the guy from Forest Gump do that already?

People like us need to get out there and show Obama we support him.

This is great, these are true heroes.