The Journey to Mexico.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly where or how "The Journey" began but here is my attempt, I hope y'all enjoy! Lets begin.

Some Background

To be real with y'all I've spent most of my life being okay with the fact that I may never go back to my home country - well maybe not never but at least not in the near future. I also never really wanted to go back to Mexico growing up and didn’t until very recently. I don't know about y'all (especially my fellow Mexican primos reading this) but while growing up I feel like I was always painted a bad picture of Mexico (not always) but most of the time, of course I knew Mexico was rich in culture and all, but just about every time las comadres would come over or whenever we would have family parties or my mom would be on the phone with someone from Mexico I swear the conversations would always be about someone who got killed or something like that, same with the Mexican news!

Now that we're on that topic let's talk about it real quick. I think that whole narrative I was given while growing up was what really discouraged me for so long and that's not good. One thing that I see now that I am older is that all of those negative things that my parents and las comadres would talk about or I would hear and see on TV (that were true) also happen here in the U.S. EVERYDAY. Before moving on I do want to quickly say that my parents didn't just tell me negative stories about Mexico but good ones too - don't get it twisted!

Why now?

Did y'all read my last blog post? If you havent done so you guys should. The reason why I recommend y'all read Procrastination is because unfortunately the process I had to go through to even get permission to leave the U.S. (Advanced Parole ) was and is very annoying and quite long. I know, I know, y'all are probably thinking "So, you didn't want to go to Mexico all this time because you were too lazy to go through the process?!" Well, the short answer is yes and no. Yes because it was and is a very long process (4-6 months) and I often got discouraged by that timely process and the many steps you have to go through. No because there is more than just the "timely process + the paperwork", you also need money and to be honest quite a lot for some cases, if you know you know. In all seriousness though, if I had to put a price tag on my whole process I would say I spent at LEAST $850. Y'all see now? it's not that easy, so many things have to go into consideration when doing this.

I first wanted to apply for advanced parole back in 2018 but back then I was not as financially stable as I am today. I always had my parents support thankfully, but even back then I knew that that was going to be a big load for them and like I mentioned above I became overwhelmed with the process and gave up on it for a while... until now!

When I made this blog I told myself I wasn't going to make any sad sob story blog posts so I won't. But, this is my last living grandma and like the caption says - the reason for my return to Mexico. She is the only person who I genuinely feel like I have memories with. Time is ticking and she and I are both getting older. I have to see her again and I cannot wait to do so.

Two Important Pieces

I was very fortunate enough to have some very amazing people by my side to help me throughout my journey from start to finish. The reason I want to point this out is because I know not everyone has that same privilege. I know that for this kind of thing many people seek out professional legal help (I know I almost did) which can be very expensive. Having these connections went a long way for me and is something I didn't and don’t take for granted.

Karen

Karen Gamez Lopez (I hope she does not mind that I use her whole freakin' government name lol) is one of those few people who helped me from start to finish in this journey. If you know Karen or have heard of Karen you know she's well connected with anything community and politics! Not only was Karen pivotal in my advanced parole process but she also introduced me to so many advocacy opportunities and I am beyond thankful for that because without those eye-opening opportunities I don't think I would be where or who I am today. So if you're reading this Karen, thank you.

Edwin

Oh man where do I even begin to talk about Edwin?

I met Edwin back in 2021 through Instagram. If I remember correctly I saw and heard Edwins story through the Immigrants Rising Instagram account. I saw that he was in the process of getting his advance parole or he had just finished his  application process. I added him on the gram and instantly slid into his DMs and told him about my story and to my surprise he responded! The rest is history!

Edwin is someone that even my family and my girlfriend are thankful for now, without him this trip wouldn't have been possible. From offering to jump into a phone call or Zoom call the very first time I messaged him (not knowing who the heck I was) to literally jumping in a call with me to fill out my application and emailing it to me, to checking local UPS store locations to making sure I mail out my paperwork correctly and giving me tons of motivations every call along the way.

If you're reading this Edwin (you better be because I sent you the link), sure we've never met but it sure feels like we've known each other for a long time. Edwin, I no longer see you as a legal advisor - you've become a friend.

Thankful

After 19 years in the U.S. I will finally be able to leave the country and return home to my birthplace... thats crazy.

People always ask me if I have any memories of my childhood in Mexico or Mexico in general and my response is always "no... not really". I think the best way to describe my "memories" are to describe them as dreams. I feel like everything I "remember", I dreamt it and the reason I say that is because it almost feels like that part of my life (my childhood 1-4yrs old) didn't even happen, you know? It feels like I am going back to Mexico for the first time or going back with a more conscious mind, more aware - I feel like those reading this right now might say "well duh!" right? I was a little buckaroo when I was last in Mexico, I guess I am not supposed to remember any of that.

Anyways, I'm losing focus of whats important! I just want want to finish off here by telling y'all how thankful I am to have this opportunity and for those around me that helped me get here.

The two individuals above definitely deserve the recognition I gave them, but I also want to be sure I express how thankful I am for everyone else in my life. My best friend, my girlfriend, my new job and all the new amazing people I have met because of it and of course my family I couldn't have done it without them!

Welp that’s a wrap for this one but stay tuned for "The Journey to Mexico - Return to the U.S.A" blog post... if they let me back in... haha jk... knock on wood.

Thank you for reading.