' Congratulations, you're now a permanent resident.'
I got my green card today.
It didn't really hit me what that meant until my mother opened her mouth. I was eating breakfast. She was babbling about her outfit, her new boots, how her jacket was the EXACT same shade of purple as the flowers in her skirt etc. I drifted in and out. Then she said 'do you want to know why I got all dressed up to get our green cards?' and i said 'sure...' 'Because todays the day we can never get kicked out again. Today we are never going back'
Never going back, never going back, never going back, never going back...
Picture it. You've lived somewhere your whole life, the concept of moving to another house, let alone continet never crossed your mind then suddenly 4 years later you walking into a high rise building in down town L.A. to get your green card. I don't know what happened, or how it happened but suddenly a man who stinks of tobaco is pushing my finger into ink and then onto a piece of paper. Now he's handing me a pen and telling me to sign my name.
there were a lot of people waiting behind me, he was clearly in a hurry, my hand was shaking, i couldn't do it. I looked at him, he looked right back at me, i took a deep breath and i wrote my name. He told me to go and sit down while he finished the paper work. I was in limbo, I wasn't permanent here, but I couldn't go back there. Flashbacks ran like an old black and white movie through my head and i tried as hard as i could not to cry, but i couldn't hold it back. My name got called, I walked up to the tabaco man and he said "congratulations, you're now a permanent resident". Behind me i felt my parents eyes burning a hole in my back, I heard my dad say 'look, Kate's getting her card'. With a shaking hand I took the papers, turned around and gave the biggest, brightest, fakest smile i could muster up. On the way home I didn't say a word.
Coming into school i heard 'congratulations, congratulations, you're, you're, a, a, permanent, permanent, permanent, permanent, permanent, reeesssiiiddeeennntttt'
This is my home for the next 10 years, the Queen will never give me up, i'll never vote, i'll never do dury duty, but they can't kick me out.
Before I signed my dad said 'that's it, for the next ten years you are here as long as you want to be' i said 'and if i dont want to be?'. He just laughed and sat back next to my mother.
I wouldn't leave if i could, that would be too hard, but i didn't particularly want to come, not when i think about it. i never expected it to be so hard to leave a place i'd been brainwashed into believing i hated.
'Congratulations, you're now a permanent resident'
It didn't really hit me what that meant until my mother opened her mouth. I was eating breakfast. She was babbling about her outfit, her new boots, how her jacket was the EXACT same shade of purple as the flowers in her skirt etc. I drifted in and out. Then she said 'do you want to know why I got all dressed up to get our green cards?' and i said 'sure...' 'Because todays the day we can never get kicked out again. Today we are never going back'
Never going back, never going back, never going back, never going back...
Picture it. You've lived somewhere your whole life, the concept of moving to another house, let alone continet never crossed your mind then suddenly 4 years later you walking into a high rise building in down town L.A. to get your green card. I don't know what happened, or how it happened but suddenly a man who stinks of tobaco is pushing my finger into ink and then onto a piece of paper. Now he's handing me a pen and telling me to sign my name.
there were a lot of people waiting behind me, he was clearly in a hurry, my hand was shaking, i couldn't do it. I looked at him, he looked right back at me, i took a deep breath and i wrote my name. He told me to go and sit down while he finished the paper work. I was in limbo, I wasn't permanent here, but I couldn't go back there. Flashbacks ran like an old black and white movie through my head and i tried as hard as i could not to cry, but i couldn't hold it back. My name got called, I walked up to the tabaco man and he said "congratulations, you're now a permanent resident". Behind me i felt my parents eyes burning a hole in my back, I heard my dad say 'look, Kate's getting her card'. With a shaking hand I took the papers, turned around and gave the biggest, brightest, fakest smile i could muster up. On the way home I didn't say a word.
Coming into school i heard 'congratulations, congratulations, you're, you're, a, a, permanent, permanent, permanent, permanent, permanent, reeesssiiiddeeennntttt'
This is my home for the next 10 years, the Queen will never give me up, i'll never vote, i'll never do dury duty, but they can't kick me out.
Before I signed my dad said 'that's it, for the next ten years you are here as long as you want to be' i said 'and if i dont want to be?'. He just laughed and sat back next to my mother.
I wouldn't leave if i could, that would be too hard, but i didn't particularly want to come, not when i think about it. i never expected it to be so hard to leave a place i'd been brainwashed into believing i hated.
'Congratulations, you're now a permanent resident'
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