Yadier Bravo Gonzalez, RMS
Top Overall Winner - Ritenour Middle School
Yadier Bravo Gonzalez
Ritenour Middle School
Grade 6
Drawing Outside The Lines
I hate drawing outside the lines when I'm coloring on a fresh page in a coloring book. I mean, I just feel like the coloring book has to be perfect sometimes, but those other times I realize not everything has to be perfect. By this I mean sometimes you have to go outside those lines, mix in colors, or even add your own drawings to the coloring book. My point is that just like coloring books our community expect people to stay within their lines as in expectations placed on people and borders. Our community also expects immigrants to be perfect or acceptable, but the truth is sometimes there is no perfect, but you can always draw outside the lines.
I believe that deporting immigrants for no reason is wrong. I think this because it rips families and friendships apart. This is the worst feeling one can go through, losing a best friend, family member, or partner due to some dumb reason. I know how this feels because back in 3rd grade I lost one of my best friends to this exact reason. One day after lunch my friend tells me he has to move to Texas which is a long way from where we live because one of his parents were going through the process of getting deported. That day was the last day I've seen him up to this day. These laws are keeping immigration from seeing the struggle that these immigrants go through and how hard they work just to put food on the table for their families.
Another reason I think deporting immigrants is wrong is because the way some ice agents do it is by finding a way to harm someone. For example, not too long ago in Minneapolis an American citizen who was raided by two ice patrols was forced to roll down the window of her car. The ice agents made her really uncomfortable and she had the right to drive away since the ice agents had no literal right to pull her over and surround her car. In a video she was shown spinning her steering wheel all the way to her right side, one of the ice agents decided to jump in front of the car and shoot her in the chest 3 times through her window that she rolled up leading to her death. To some people it may seem as self defense because she was close to running him over, but the truth is that he jumped in front of the car on purpose just to get the right to shoot her. I believe this is so wrong and not the way to try and deport immigrants.
In the end, a coloring book doesn’t have to be perfect to be good. Sometimes crossing borders to make the drawing better isn’t a mistake and simply a solution to a better drawing or life. I think that immigrants should not be judged by rules and borders, but should be judged by the story behind these immigrants. I also think that there is still hope to fix this problem. For example a rule that can take family, plight, and hard work into consideration before assuming that the right thing to do is to deport someone. I think that instead of deporting in general our government should help provide opportunities to help immigrants stay together. It isn't only the government that can help, its us too! We can help by taking responsibility in showing that we care for immigrants and also standing up for any discrimination against immigrants. I believe that if we set our expectations to good instead of perfect and inside the lines, we can make a difference that helps other people draw the right path for them. I think that when it comes to these two topics that sometimes the right thing to do is to draw outside the lines and blend in colors, who knows you might even get a perfect sunset in the end.