UA Fellow 08/15 Reflection

Mark it down.  August 15, 2012 was a historic day for the United States.  When I woke up yesterday, I mostly felt tired and grouchy for being up so early.  My mood quickly changed as I sat on the Metra into the city.  On a 5:00 am train that usually fills with factory workers on their early commute, the cars suddenly started boasting crowds of young dreamers.  Three young men sat in the seats next to me.  Once they recognized my shirt and bracelet, they invited me to join them.  As I heard the stories of these young teens, I felt proud of the work our organization is doing.

The anticipation of the day continued to grow as I walked from the station to Navy Pier.  The 2.5mile walk allowed me to see CBS running their coverage of the event on their large screen.  I saw more families headed to the pier.  As I walked the last block on Illinois Avenue, the number of people flooding Navy Pier overwhelmed me.  I couldn’t believe the number of Dreamers that came out.  I had no idea the numbers would continue to grow so large.

The final highlight of my day was seeing my great volunteer Nayely volunteering as her father held her place in line.  As she finally entered the ballroom for the last step of her journey, I reviewed her registration paper and she chattered with excitement.  It was so easy to feel her joy over this long deserved opportunity.  She has bigger dreams at sixteen than I imagined at her age.  I know yesterday was just a start at her achieving them.  I’m so proud that I could be a part of that.