Dear Journal, Since the birth of my daughter in 2003, I have dreamt of moving to the United States to make a better

life for my family. I hope to provide my daughter with opportunities that I did not have growing up in Mexico. In 2008 that dream became a reality, when I brought my family here United States. This after all is the country where dreams come true. We left Mexico and migrated to the United States. The United States is home to the second largest Mexican community in the world second only to Mexico itself comprising nearly 22% of the entire Mexican origin population of the world (Wikipedia). We settled in Phoenix, AZ for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that that my brother and his family reside here. The other reason is due to the higher population of Mexican Americans. We live in a neighborhood that is referred to as a barrio. A barrio has been defined as a place where Latino immigrants can express communal cultural and language within the larger American culture (Martin, 2007). I agree that being around family members and living in an area with a large Mexican population is making the transition to life in the United States easier for me and my family. Living in the barrios also gives us access to markets and stores that sell traditional Mexican foods and other products. I speak a limited amount of English and do not have a high school diploma. This made finding a job difficult, but not impossible. I managed get a job with a landscape company here in Phoenix. My starting wage is low. The work is hard and the hours are long, but the money is still better than what I was making in Mexico. My new employer said that in a few months I may be eligible for a promotion. I need to work hard and learn more English. With the promotion, I would receive more money and health benefits for me and my family. Currently, my family is forced to live on a strict budget while we try and save money to someday purchase a home of our own. Presently, we currently share a two bedroom apartment with my brother and his family. There are twelve of us in all that live in 800 square foot apartment. In my culture, it is not uncommon our friends and families to reside in what some may consider overcrowded conditions. The U.S. Census considers a residence to be overcrowded if there is more than one person per room (Roth). We chose to live this way out of economic necessity. Lack of affordable housing and poor selection of well- paying occupations may combine to to create the necessity of many living close together (Roth). Moving to America has been an adventure with its peaks and pits along the way. I am very grateful to be able to provide my daughter with opportunities she otherwise would not have been afforded if we stayed in Mexico. We are hopeful that with hard work and education, she will one day be able to graduate high school and possible go on to college. The American dream has different meanings for different people. Am I living the American dream? My answer is yes. I am living in a country made up of a population of different background and viewpoints. I guess that is why it is referred to as the Melting Pot. I may not be the richest man in material means, but I am rich in experience and possibilities. As we begin to assimilate ourselves into mainstream culture, I cannot help wonder if this mean my family has to abandon our culture in order to do so? Personally, I do not think we will and here is why. In the United State, we need to learn English to communicate with citizens outside

our barrio. English will become our language of choice. As we further assimilate ourselves, I hope that we will be able to live among a neighborhood not called a barrio. Assimilation does not have to mean abandon. For me, it simply means adapting to a new way. Our culture does not define who we are. We should define who we are. Differences make people unique. Culture is just part of what makes us who we are. My hope for my daughter is that someday, she wont be a Mexican American. My hope is that someday she is simply American. It is time to stop referring to people as terms and start referring to them as people. Viva Americas!!!

References Wikipedia. Mexican American - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_American Martin, Michael E. Residential Segregation Patterns of Latinos in the United States, 19902000. New York: Routledge, 2007. Roth, Benjamin J. The Latino Community in Suburban Chicago: an Analysis of Overcrowding. Latinos United.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican American