In approximately one hour, I will be boarding a plane to Houston, Texas from Dallas, Texas (U.S.). Following that, my second boarding pass corresponds to a plane that will take me to México City, México.
January of 2017 was the first time I was able to return to México after 17 years, but it was for nine days, and I dreamed of the day I could visit again (because of my DACA status, any time I travel internationally, I have to request permission to leave the country and then return, a process called advance parole which in this case was granted for academic purposes). Today, I will be back in my tierra, my other home, for a study abroad program which means a lot to me beyond its academic characteristics. Hoy, volveré a mi tierra, mi otra casa, para un programa de estudios al extranjero, que significa muchas cosas para mi más allá de sus características académicas.
Here is a small poem I wrote in January, but very much applies today.
Away
They said she couldn’t
fly away
But is it really away?
If it’s to a place she came
into the world to on her first day
Now she is on this plane
Oh, her parents must think
she is insane
But in her heart she knows it’s right
Because her life has always been
an on-going flight
and now she is in flight
-yahaira pamela