Student Reflection

by Lydia Fleming

This week for Spanish in the Community we are writing our second reflection for the class. However, this time it is a little different because many of us are not working with our community anymore, including myself. Sadly, I can’t volunteer any more at International Prep Academy, but I can reflect on my time with them and relate it to the world today.

For this reflection I picked the prompt in which we talked about how a pandemic effects people differently. The pandemic can affect me differently than another student in the class. It can affect my mom differently than my dad. It can affect a teacher differently than a policeman. It can affect a social worker differently than a store owner. Furthermore, it can affect an immigrant differently than a native-born citizen.

I think this topic is very interesting and I have also listened to a podcast on the matter. Before this assignment I did put much thought into how a global pandemic could affect such a large population of people. If we were to look at the United States specially, there are millions of immigrants affected differently by COVID-19. Many times, people come to America for a better life, however, sometimes they take risks to get here and make very hard decisions. Some people separate from their families or spend all their money on coming here. They give up past lives in search for a new one. This can be a very risky move, but in the end, they fight for their dreams. It is inspiring. Sadly, many immigrants are suffering right now because a global pandemic was not in their plans when arriving to the United States.

After reflecting on this, I realized that some of the kids I helped in classes mentioned their parents and their backgrounds. One kid specifically mentioned that his mom was from Mexico. He talked about her often and said that his grandma still lives in Mexico. This stuck with me because it reminded me of my mom and my grandma. When my mother moved here, she was only 21 and had no plan. Luckily, she was able to land a couple odd jobs here and there until she met my father. My mother explains how she’s blessed she only had to worry about herself when she moved here because it would be difficult to support more than herself. I think about this student and how this may have affected his family. For all I know, they could be perfectly happy and healthy, but you never know. There is a possibility they are struggling. His mother could have moved here alone with her child and her family is now a country away.

I think it is important to remember all the immigrants all over the world during this time. Some of them may have only just arrived and could only find work at a restaurant that is now closed. Others may be here alone and unable to travel back to their home country. Some may feel the pressures of money while trying to support their families on unemployment checks. The lesson I learned from this week is to check on your neighbors. Everyone is struggling differently during this time and it is important to realize this.