Someone Like Me Quotes

“Finally, thank you to the millions of immigrants who have come before me, risked their lives, lost their lives, and left their families and land behind to come to America. Thank you. Because without you, America would not exist.”
― Julissa Arce, Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream

“Education changed my life; it opened doors of opportunity, and now it is my turn to open doors for others.”
― Julissa Arce, Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream

“In August 2014, I became an American citizen, twenty years after I first came to live in the United States. My first trip out of the country was to Mexico. It was a very emotional trip. I was finally back in the country of my birth. Mama Silvia had also passed away, and she and my dad are buried in the same place. I visited their graves and gave them thanks for all the sacrifices they made for me. As”
― Julissa Arce, Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream

“So when I was nineteen, I did the only thing I felt like I could do to go on living my life: I bought a fake green card and a social security card. After college, I moved to New York City to work at Goldman Sachs on Wall Street, one of the most prestigious financial institutions in the world. I lived in constant fear of anyone finding out that my documents were fake and I wasn’t supposed to be working. But despite the challenges and fears, I became a vice president at the age of twenty-seven. I had achieved all my professional goals. One night in 2007, I called my dad in Mexico, and we had a long heart-to-heart conversation. I asked for his forgiveness for calling the cops. He asked me to forgive him for his drinking, for hitting me, and for putting me in a position where I had to call the police. I am so grateful for that conversation with my dad.”
― Julissa Arce, Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream

“I made it. I almost didn’t survive all the challenges I had faced at home, at school, and with my immigration status, but I had been really strong and fought for my dreams. Here I was, a student at one of the best universities in the country. My mom had been right all along. Someone like me could make it in America.”
― Julissa Arce, Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream

“I didn’t have to worry about anymore. My dad wasn’t screaming at me. I didn’t have to take care of my mom or help my little brother with his homework. It was so good to just be me, to be selfish, to only worry about myself. To be normal. But once Friday came around, I was reminded how not normal I was. While everyone started on their weekend plans, I boarded a bus for the ninety-minute ride back to San Antonio to sell funnel cakes. I was instantly reminded of how much my mom, my brother, and my father were giving up just so that I could go to college. How could I not feel like I owed them everything?”
― Julissa Arce, Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream

“I didn’t want my little brother to have the same worries as me. That became my American Dream: to help my family. I needed to believe deep in my soul that someone like me could make it in America, especially on the emotional day when I took my mom, Julio, and Uncle Mike to the airport.”
― Julissa Arce, Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream

“I decided to spend as much time as I could away from home. School became a sanctuary for me. I buried myself in my studies and activities, knowing that they were my way out of this situation. I read about colleges all over the country, in faraway places. Even though I was undocumented, I still believed in the American Dream—if I worked hard enough and earned good grades, I believed I could get into college and leave all this sadness and craziness behind.”
― Julissa Arce, Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream

“With one phone call, I turned my mom into a single parent. I hardly remember what those six months were like without him, except for the fact that everything was harder. My dad was the one who drove Julio and me to school. He picked us up, cooked us dinner, and took me to my basketball games and dance practices. My mom did the best she could to make up for his absence, but she wasn’t as organized. The house was a constant mess, and I was late to every practice. I didn’t have to deal with my dad’s anger and drinking, but that didn’t mean I didn’t miss and need my dad. I wish I didn’t grow up feeling afraid of him. But I also thought if he was mean all the time, then hating him wouldn’t hurt so much. The stress also brought out another side of my mom. One day, Julio and I were playing in the living room, and he hit me really hard with his toy sword. I hit him back and he started crying.”
― Julissa Arce, Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream

“It was the first time I understood that for undocumented immigrants, every single decision has potentially life-altering consequences. Nothing is ever simple. There would always be more consequences to face. I did the right thing by calling the police, but I had also done a terrible thing, and the fallout would be earth- shattering. My dad was in jail for one night. When he came back home, he apologized. Under normal circumstances, our relationship might have improved after that night. The threat of going to prison, an arrest record, and the shame of going to jail might have been what my dad needed to turn his life around. But our situation was anything but normal. What I didn’t know when I called the police was that he would be deported. He had a valid visa, but for legal reasons I didn’t understand, he was forced to leave the country for six months.”
― Julissa Arce, Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream