This Is What It Feels Like

Page 29

Light and Darkness Yeimy Beato At the beginning of the school year, in some way, no one seemed to understand me. My dreams seemed farther than ever, and it seemed like I would never reach them, and less so where I was. Everything changed in the middle of the semester. I was on a plane to the U.S. I don’t know how it happened, but it’s a great way to make my dreams come true. It’s been a very difficult change, but they say that different is good. It’s been a challenge to learn English and have to live without my mom. In life I’ve learned that we have to keep going no matter what the circumstances are. In the end the best thing is that I’m in a place where I can achieve my dreams. Obviously it won’t be easy, but in the end the effort will be worth it or I hope it will, but I think it will be. These were my words at the beginning of the school year. I cried when I reread it because it filled me with nostalgia to see how much I’ve achieved. It seems like so long ago, but at the same time not long ago. The beginning of the year in the US was full of tears for me. The fear and darkness took over me and it seemed like I’d never see the sunshine again. One day I realized that to beat the darkness I’d have to accept the fact that the light might take a while, and the darkness wasn’t so bad. The light in the end was always there but I didn’t see it. The whole time my eyes were closed from fear. Fear from opening my eyes, but that’s not it, fear of becoming myself, fear of the language, fear of being judged, fear to accept myself as I am. I spend so much time thinking that the light could be the sun that I never thought that the light could be me. The light that I needed to 10.


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My Silence

1min
page 171

How I See Joy

1min
page 169

Silence

1min
pages 162-163

Kisses to the Sky

1min
page 159

Granted

1min
page 157

So Much More Than a Name

1min
page 143

The Gift of God

1min
page 142

Paradise at Buffalo Wild Wings

1min
pages 140-141

Through the Window

1min
pages 138-139

Untitled

1min
page 137

Untitled

1min
page 135

An Ode to My Mom’s Presence

1min
page 136

The Wrench

1min
pages 132-134

The Beautifully Mysterious Sky

1min
pages 130-131

Home Sweet Home

1min
pages 128-129

Thorns and Roses

1min
page 125

Good Times

1min
pages 122-123

The Never-Ending Sinkhole

5min
pages 110-121

Without Her

1min
pages 106-107

Spanish Harlem

1min
pages 108-109

Tropical Life

1min
pages 102-103

I Am From

1min
pages 104-105

A Mile in My Shoes

1min
page 99

Una Milla en Mis Zapatos

1min
page 98

How It Feels to Be Different

2min
pages 96-97

Climate Change

1min
pages 94-95

Walk in My Shoes

1min
pages 92-93

My Shoes

1min
page 91

To Walk in My Shoes

1min
pages 88-89

Walk in My Shoes

1min
pages 86-87

Mis Zapatos

1min
page 90

Día de Resistencia

1min
pages 84-85

My Struggle

1min
pages 80-81

To Change My World

1min
pages 78-79

Daniel’s Shoes

1min
pages 74-75

Try Walking in My Shoes

1min
pages 68-69

Yo Soy De

1min
pages 64-65

Wake Up

1min
pages 66-67

I Am From

1min
pages 62-63

New York

1min
pages 60-61

La Ley de la Vida

1min
pages 54-55

The Law of Life

1min
pages 56-57

My Shoes

1min
pages 58-59

Inner Storm

1min
page 51

A Él

1min
page 40

The Break of Dawn

5min
pages 46-49

It Hurts

1min
page 45

Riding Free

1min
page 50

My Side

1min
page 44

For Him

1min
page 41

Judgment Day

1min
pages 42-43

My World: Maimón

1min
page 39

I See

1min
pages 36-37

Luz y Oscuridad

3min
pages 26-28

My Nikes

1min
pages 34-35

An Incomplete Story

1min
pages 32-33

Immigration Is

1min
pages 22-23

The Dominant Narrative

1min
pages 24-25

Light and Darkness

3min
pages 29-31

Mi Mundo: Maimón

1min
page 38
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