We had to hide in the shadows and never make waves back then. My friends and I never knew what could happen so we never made ourselves so out in front on everything. We made ourselves invisible and hung out with each other only. You never were really a part of the school you were stuck in ESL class with all children from Mexico and really never left until you spoke good enough English to participate in regular classes. Depending on your ability to learn to speak and write English decided when you participated in the same classes as everyone else. My parents never spoke a word of Spanish in our house except if they were talking on the phone to family back in Mexico which hurts me now days but back then it was just the first priority to my parents. Most of my friends had parents that did not know English and never tried to learn so there children were hurt by that and were left back in grades. It was still a normal thing back then for Immigrant kids to drop out in middle school and go back home to Mexico or go to work in some labor job by the end of 8th grade. Without going on any longer and sounding like a back in the day speech. You can understand how times have changed since then. My students that I know are here illegally do not sound like the kids on here nothing like them that is the difference in being in South Carolina than being in lets say California. In south Texas we were not guaranteed high school back then really we were not guaranteed junior high school as well. We got our citizenship it was a surprise really something we dd not expect the paper work was a hassle and took years for us to actually get our paperwork for us to feel comfortable. I went to college in 1989 still played it low key at Southwest Texas State in San Marcos met my wife there same backgrounds but she lived in another town about 50 miles from me growing up . So different right? I am only 42 so it was not that long ago.