“Querer es poder” or “ Wanting is doing"--Anissa

There’s this saying that my mother would always tell my siblings and I, “Querer es poder” or “
Wanting is doing. She believed that if anything is achievable as long as you’re determined to
reach your goal. My mother would often tell us how lucky we were to be born U.S citizens and
that we should be proud of the fact that we are Mexican- American. I always considered myself
to be the perfect blend of both cultures because I would listen to both Britney Spears and
Selena Quintanilla on repeat during my childhood. Last Summer, My mother shared the news
that she was finally going to become a U.S citizen after being a Resident Alien for many years.
Her birthplace was Tijuana, Mexico and she came to the U.S during her adolescence in the 80s.
Her life growing up was completely different from mine as not many opportunities were available
to her. About a month after her announcement, she received a packet of questions and a
corresponding CD in the mail. I read the packet, which included 100 questions and answers and
realized that she was going to be taking the Civics test in about a month. The Civics test is an
oral exam in which an applicant, like my mom would be asked 10 out of the 100 questions in the
packet by a USCIS officer. For the next month, my mother was studying for the exam rather
intensely. Honestly, she looked like she was part of a training montage from the movie “Rocky”.
Car rides consisted of listening to the exam review CD and quizzing her on everything about the
U.S from “Why are there 50 stars on the American flag?” to “ Name at least 3 U.S national
holidays”. School eventually started again and in U.S history, I learned about Ellis Island, the
first place that the immigrants set foot in the U.S. During that chapter, I thought about my
mother’s life. She left Mexico in hopes to make a better life for my siblings and I. The first school
that I ever attended was a private, Catholic school near West Covina. It was led by nuns and
was filled with many rules and regulations. Despite the fact that my family isn’t that religious, my
mother insisted in entering me at this school so that I would have an education and morals that
I would be proud of. She would drive me to softball practice at the park, stay up late to help me
with my homework, and always help me with my Spanish. I can honestly say that I have a lot of
pressure put on me. None of my parents had the opportunity to go to a university and I’ll be the
first in my intermediate family to have a college degree. She would always tell me to be proud of
who I am and that I shouldn’t change anything about myself in order to be popular. My mother
became a U.S citizen in September, 2016 and passed the Civics exam with flying colors. I used
to dislike my middle name when I was younger because I thought it was unoriginal for her first
name to be my middle name. Honestly, I'm now proud to be named after my mother because
she's is able to have the determination to accomplish her goals.