The Wall Between Us

The Wall Between US 

They tell me I’m so lucky. So lucky to be at UCSD. So lucky to be employed. So lucky. I don’t feel so lucky. 

The two countries that make up who I am are in an ever growing fight. The US either claims I am stealing jobs, only achieving from affirmative action, and a symbol of sexual desire which can not be harassed; or I am a criminal, a drug dealer, and an illegal looking to do bad things for the sake of being a bad person. Mexico can not claim me as they call me no sabo and say I have fallen into American ways - working and studying instead of submitting to the machismo standards of living to raise kids and goals of a perfect family life. 

The election has only made things harder. Where do I stand besides the wall between the US and Mexico. I am a citizen of both countries yet accepted in neither. I protest for my people but get demeaned for not speaking their language. I protest for my people then get threatened to get sent “back” to a country I did not grow up in. It all feels so confusing. 

Thankfully there are so many just like me, and I am so lucky to have finally met them. The hardest fight isn’t the one against others, it’s the one against ourselves. 

**Bald Eagle attacking Golden Eagle, national bird of MX on MX flag. Behind is MX/US border with Chicanx protest signs.