I did a TED talk — "Hiding In Plain Sight: My Life As An Undocumented American" - Page 10

Originally Posted by Pianoswithoutfaith

As I said, I am the most harmless, nicest users on this site. I wouldn't even hurt a fly.

Originally Posted by Pianoswithoutfaith

I am the most harmless user here, I don't know why everyone is so afraid of me and feels victimized by me. So, everyone who questions you is rude as hell? I am not going to agree with you blinding if thats what you want. You have lots of users here already, you don't need me pom-poming you. "Give me a U- give me a N - give m D -give me O give me a C " yeah see, thats just not me.

Originally Posted by satnam

I think it's finally moving along. The whole thing relies on other people. So there were days where I was feeling like I might explode because a deadline was coming up and I didn't have what was needed. Or the attorney would push for a certain piece of evidence which delayed everything by months but perhaps it was worth it in the end (to be determined).

Overall I definitely learned that I can't rely on anyone but myself. That should of been empowering yet it did not feel that way. It still is hard to hear friends/acquaintances complain about how terrible life is just because of some tiny insignificant thing they have to deal with. And yet there's people in our situation who can't drive, fly, get in state tuition or work (though luckily DACA fixed some of these things for those that qualified).

What she did could have backfired. It's a risk. What I'm about to say is unrelated to what she did. But I felt like sharing it anyway. I've met someone was smuggled into this country after his father was murdered. His mother & sisters didn't move. Supposedly he had to move so he could avoid his father's fate. What did he do here? Got a bit too bold. Perhaps enjoyed life a bit too much. Didn't let his status interfere in any way.

Now why did I write about him here? Well because up until recently I didn't really know many "illegals" due to my particular circumstance. So this person here was my only real connection to other people in my situation. He was about my age and in some ways he was doing better than me. And he could of been my only chance of maybe getting a fake ID and being able to visit family/friends after so long. He even got a social security card. His high school teacher procured it! How... I don't even. Probably was a fake. For a little while I was almost envious. That sort of lack of fear got him results. That all changed when he was arrested. So this guy had quite some opportunities and then he wasted it all. Luckily they didn't come for him until after I was gone. That happened at my friend's house who convinced his parent's to let him stay there. Come to think of it that could of been a terrible sleepover.

That was just one of the many things that made me feel like I should stay quiet and below the radar so to speak. Now I'm on the path to legal status and yet I'm still somewhat scared. My life experiences made me that way. Hopefully I can recover and do something truly useful. I hope we all move on and recover once this is over with.

Originally Posted by ldh999

Yes, I had a SSN, credit card, drivers license, bank account, etc. I went to school in Chicago and flew back and forth from there to Texas to see my parents during school breaks. There were literally no indicators that I was undocumented until I got a Notice to Appear in immigration court in the mail. I'm curious to know more about how you lived life without a SSN, drivers license, etc... that's really interesting. Have you ever flown on a plane??

Thanks again for your message!!

Originally Posted by Pianoswithoutfaith

Exactly this, no opinion is greater than anothers. She seems interested in me, oh gosh, I am just too shy in sharing my personal experiences. But by all means, please free, TC, to assume whatever you please about me.

I will suggest you from now to pay no attention to me so we can keep this party going.

Originally Posted by 3230

let me drop my emotions into this post

Originally Posted by AdreamernamedNatasha

Man that was an intense debate, I hope what I said about being "more illegal" did not trigger anything and I will admit my mistake on saying that I'm sorry if I offended you. We cant be divided we are all dreamers here!!! To answer your question, no i have never flown on a plane out of fear .

Life without an SSN, drivers license, etc was normal until something came up where I needed to have one (like at 16 learning to drive). I found out my status watching my older brothers go through their hardships first so it kind of made me get ready to suffer the same fate. My dad worked extremely hard being self employed and paid my international college tuition out of pocket which was a blessing most dont have. My mom was picking me up from college because they didnt want me to drive illegally which would be very humiliating to most, but I was so numb and just accepted that this was my life. I was not a partier so the night life issue wasn't a problem but in college I sure didnt want to bring my st. lucian passport to a club lol

My oldest brother couldnt take it anymore and chose to go to Canada for a better life and he is banned for 10 years so it sucks I miss him so much (he's on year 3). My other brother went to the navy and now he is a citizen filing for my parents who just did their biometrics. This leaves me all alone, unable to leave the country with a brother that is unable to come back in but you know what, Im still going to count my blessings because now with DACA, i have my job at jcpenny, can drive like a normal 21 yr old, and I have a shot to have a great career which is awesome..... so theres my little story.