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The American Immigration Council is proud to announce the winner of the 21st Annual Celebrate America Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest. This contest encourages educators to incorporate lessons on U.S. immigration into their classrooms and gives fifth graders the opportunity to explain, in their own words, why they are proud America is a nation of immigrants.

This year’s winning poem “The Blessing of Immigration” was written by Imyra Guerrero from Boston Teachers Union Pilot School in Roslindale, Massachusetts. The poem describes her father’s journey immigrating from Honduras to building a family in the United States. Imyra said she was inspired to write the poem because her father was “so brave to make such a big choice to come to America.”

Read Imyra’s winning entry below:

The Blessing of Immigration

It’s Gone

Everything

Gone

My home

My mom

My family

My childhood

Thinking

No me gusta!

But there’s nothing I can do

I didn’t want this to happen

But it did

I could not change anything

lf I had one wish

I would stay

Left

I left everything

My mom

My friends

My home

Todas

My New Home

America

Boston

English

I was so confused

Overwhelmed

“What do I do now?”

Adiós Honduras

Adiós

I said Adiós

But I want to say it again

So,

Adiós, mamá,

Adiós, amigos,

Adiós, mi vida

Fit In

I didn’t know what they were saying

Mi papá told me that we were in Boston

That they spoke English

I went to school

People didn’t say “Hola.”

lnstead they said “Hi.”

But I didn’t

English

“How do I speak it?”

¿Cómo se dice?

“Yo no sé,” Papá says,

“We will learn soon.”

I didn’t fit in

Maple Street

I saw this female

She taught me

She taught me how to speak English!

Estaba tan feliz

Nikki

ls from Boston

She’s different

Smart

Sassy

Funny

Mi novia, mi amor

My New Family

Friends

Family all happy

Because of my new hija,

Imyra

I will never forget

The best day of my life,

Moving to America

I didn’t know it yet,

But soon I did

Now

Ahora, este país es mi casa,

I live here,

I have family and friends here,

America!

Author’s Note:  This is my papa’s story. His life changed as soon as he left Honduras. He was only 14, but knew what was happening. He left because it wasn’t safe. There were gangs, and people being kidnapped. He had to leave his mom which was really hard. But when he met my mom he had help instantly. Now, even though my papa got deported, he is still a blessed immigrant. 

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