I am currently 21 years old and recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology. I have been slowly coming out as undocumented since my senior year in high school (2008-2009) and progressively more out of the shadows till recently (2012-present). I am also in the process of coming out as Queer since early 2011. I have not yet come out to my family as Queer because I still fear their possible indifference, grief, and shame about this important part of who I am. However, I have been preparing psychologically and intellectually all this time for my coming out. I now feel sufficiently empowered to soon take the next step and become a proactive member of both marginalized minorities (UndocuQueer). I want to use my skills and everything I have learned to contribute to the progress of the oppressed.
Unnamed
I was born and raised in Mexico. I was 12 years old when my parents decided to immigrate to the U.S. after getting tired of the increasing violence in our home country, especially the pervasive violence in the city we were living which had already put my parents’ lives in danger. My parents worked in a small grocery store and frequently had minor thefts but one day it got to the extreme of gun threat. We were also experiencing difficult economic conditions and my parents eventually learned my siblings and I were not going to receive much support from public schools even when maintaining academic excellence. This prompted their decision to migrate to the land of opportunities in search of a better future for us.
