ABSTRACT
Nuestro Trayecto shares my personal experience and that of many immigrants from Guatemala. The triptych (Figure II.1) shares the external and internal voices that push at each stage of this journey. Crossing the border is one of the most difficult experiences an immigrant can go through. As I’ve heard loved ones say, in the path you are asked to run, to be quiet, and to hide for the fear of getting caught. We are forced to leave prized possessions and come to a place where complaining is not an option. We are asked to keep quiet and work hard because that’s expected of us. When we hear threats and offensive language towards us, we are to remain silent, powerless. Though fear may want to overtake, there is a voice that remains in the silence and that is one of encouragement to remind us, we are resilient. We have to keep dreaming in the stillness so that our actions may speak louder than the words said about us. But is that enough? What does it take from us to make it in this country? Is the courage to take a path of dirt and darkness of 4,000 miles enough, is it enough to “just keep working harder” and to “just keep dreaming”?
