Saturday, May 12, 2007

A second generation's balancing act

This is a good story about the difficulties that second generation immigrants have. They have to try to live in both worlds. DP

With a foot in two worlds, a Hanover woman combines an American life with her parents' deep Mexican roots

By JENNIFER VOGELSONG, Daily Record/Sunday News

ydr.com: In the middle of Elsa Lua's senior year of high school, her family left California to join relatives in Hanover and look for better-paying jobs.

Lua wasn't happy. Compared to California, Hanover was boring. She hated her new school and fell into a depression. "I was like the only raisin in the milk," she said.

One day, she just stopped going.

She knew it was a disappointment for her parents, who risked crossing the U.S./Mexico border for a chance at a better life for themselves and their children.

They didn't say much, but she knew.

She took a factory job, but quickly realized it wasn't her thing and decided the only option was to go back to school.

So she got her graduate equivalency diploma, an associate degree and a job as a medical assistant. Now, nearly 10 years later, Lua has her own apartment, a boyfriend, and is taking classes to become a dental hygienist.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

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