Dreams (Translation of Sueños)

DREAMS

Have you ever had a dream that you know will be difficult to achieve, but which suddenly and in a manner that you least expected, came true?  Such a dream could be something like seeing snow, going ice-skating, visiting a desert, or buying one of those chocolates you’d love to try.  If you ask me, every achievement depends on the effort we put in and how willing we are to work at it, but above all it depends on knowing how to take advantage of those opportunities that only come along once in a lifetime.

A friend once said to me, “life without goals, objectives, and dreams, would be no kind of life.” And he was right, because our dreams are what fill our lives with happiness and hope, and motivate us to carry on.  We could compare it to a child who is shopping with his mum.  The child sees a toy and cries and says to his mum that he wants it.  His mum thinks the toy is ugly and that he has more and better toys at home. But from the child’s point of view, in that moment, this toy means everything to him, he doesn’t even remember the toys he has at home, and he feels that if his mummy doesn’t buy it for him, his life will have no meaning.  That’s why he tries so hard to convince his mum to buy it for him.  We’re all like that child, except that we know that in life there is always more we can achieve and that our dream will make us happy and to achieve it we go on at life, at opportunities, but above all, we try to convince ourselves. Of course, there will be times when things don’t turn out as we had planned, but the important thing is knowing that we tried.

In my life some dreams have come true that I would never have imagined.  Last year I attended a school for two weeks where I learned how to improve my conduct, to improve my mind, but above all how to improve spiritually, which is what I consider most important.  Right now I’m about to achieve another goal, that of finishing university.  These experiences have taught me so much, that I wouldn’t change them for anything.  Finally, this year a big, adventurous dream will come true, one like the dreams I mentioned at the beginning.  The dream of seeing the ocean and appreciating just how immense it is; of seeing snow and walking on it; or of buying one of those chocolates that I’ve only seen on TV.

SUEÑOS

¿Alguna vez han tenido un sueño que saben que difícilmente se logrará, pero que de repente y bajo las circunstancias que menos nos imaginamos se logra? Uno  de los sueños podría ser: conocer la nieve, ir a patinar, conocer el desierto o comprarte un chocolate que deseas tanto. En mi opinión todo logro alcanzado depende del esfuerzo y voluntad de parte nuestra y sobre todo de saber aprovechar esas oportunidades que solo llegan una vez en la vida.

La vida sin metas, objetivos y sueños - dijo un amigo - simplemente no sería vida; y tiene mucha razón, porque nuestros sueños llenan la vida de alegría, de esperanza y nos motivan a seguir adelante. Comparémoslo a un niño que está en una tienda de compras con su mamá, el niño al ver un juguete llora y le dice a la mamá que lo quiere tener, para su mamá  el juguete es feo y piensa que en casa él ya tiene muchos y más bonitos, ahora pensemos en el niño, en ese momento para él el juguete lo es todo, incluso ni recuerda los que tiene en casa y siente que si su mami no lo compra su vida no tendrá sentido, es por eso que él se empeña por convencer a su mamá de que lo compre. Todos somos como ese niño con la diferencia que sabemos que en la vida hay más que conseguir y que ese sueño nos llenará de felicidad y para lograrlo le insistimos a la vida a nuestras oportunidades pero sobre todo nos convencemos nosotros mismos. Claro habrá ocasiones en que los resultados no serán como lo esperamos, pero lo importante es saber que lo intentamos.

En mi vida se ha realizado sueños que jamás los imagine. El año pasado asistí a una escuela de dos semanas  en las que aprendí a mejorar mi conducta, a mejorar mi condición mental, intelectual pero sobre todo espiritual, la que considero la más importante. Ahora estoy a punto de lograr un objetivo más y es terminar la universidad. Estas experiencias han dejado en mi enormes enseñanzas que no se sustituyen con nada. Y por último este año se cumplirá un sueño muy grande y aventurero es uno como les mencionaba al inicio como: ver el océano y apreciar su inmensidad, conocer la nieve y caminar sobre ella o comprarme  un chocolate de los que solo veo en la tele.

A Long Journey (English translation of Un Largo Viaje)

What does it mean to emigrate?

We may all have our own idea of what it means, but the most common use of the word in my language is understood to mean heading abroad from Nicaragua.

To emigrate is not just to leave one country and head for another; it implies more than that.  It is to take a risk, win or lose, and it means showing courage and a strong will.  After reading this brief account, you will understand why I say that.

Some years ago a kid named Deygli moved to our barrio.  He was just like all the rest of us, he liked to play and go out and have fun with his little school friends.  He was a happy kid with hope and dreams of making something of his life.  As the years went by, we went from being the kids of the barrio, to being the teenagers of Barrio Rubén Darío and, like all teenagers, we set ourselves goals which we dreamed of achieving without thinking about the costs or the risks.

When he turned 17, he decided to make a long journey, the famous American dream, a dream that I don’t know and in such painful circumstances wouldn’t want to know.  In our country, Nicaragua, it is really difficult to get a visa for the US. That’s why so many decide to go illegally, and that’s what Deygli decided to do; he decided to go illegally, thinking it would just be nothing more than a few days’ journey.  He never imagined it would take him much longer.  It was an exhausting journey, as you might imagine.  One, two, many days went by.  They had covered many miles and were not far from their goal, but Deygli was overcome with exhaustion.  His brothers did what they could to help him – ah, I hadn’t mentioned he was traveling with his brothers.  They had to cover him with leaves so the cops could find him and send him back home to Nicaragua.  His family back home waited anxiously for news.

Then one day the phone rang.  It was a call for his mamá.  The call she hoped she’d never get, the worst news of all.  He youngest son Deygli had died, asphyxiated in the desert.  With a pain which we cannot imagine, his two brothers had to leave their kid brother to die, powerless to help him.  His mother couldn’t believe it, nor could Deygli’s young girlfriend who was left with their only child who was just nine months old.

For the people of our town it was news, but so very, very sad. It took more than two weeks for his body to arrive in Nicaragua to be buried in the last place he had imagined he would end up.