Gibran Murrieta, Grade 12
UWC-USA

In the city of fields I reside
Where Cesar Chavez was once born,
And where he ultimately passed

A city of dreams,
Of young and old
Who seek better
Who want to grow

In the city of farmers I reside,
In scorching heat, and freezing rows
Full of sweat and ache

A city of Spanish and English,
Of Mexico and the U.S
Of those who cross every morning for their family
For the future of their sons and daughters

Of those who seek a change in this world
Connected by language and identity,
Pain and poverty,
Hope and history

We stand together,
As San Luis, and Somerton, 
Yuma and San Luis Rio Colorado,
As a community of all

But now I’ve left.

Now, I’m surrounded by those like me.
But also different from me
From sharing the same hopes and dreams,
To having different languages and cultures

We all started the same:
Confused, overwhelmed, nervous, and anxious
Excited, emotional, welcomed, and free
New to the lands, new to the culture 
Open to  experiencing what we never could

Though we all parted from our homes
We created one together

We made a place where we felt free,
Where we could be whoever we wanted to be

We made a place that we felt connected to,
That we wanted to return to even if all odds were against us

A place where we will miss the endless laughs,
The parties, sleepovers, sleepless nights,
The tea talks, emotional breakdowns, 
And the joint pain of walking up the stairs

A place where we will remember the soft, cold snow 
Covering everything in sight in a bright, white sheet of coldness,
Melting as it fell on our hands, 
our feet leaving imprints as we walked on by, 
and the screams of one another, 
as we ran from the snowballs being thrown at us.

And a place where we will celebrate the friendships
That we never thought would be possible
Celebrate the moments that changed us
Either for the better or for the worse

Even when years have passed by, 
We will remember and miss those moments
Spent in that small, lonely town,
Surrounded by trees, and canyons
Mountain lions and skunks
Stressed out, confused, and overwhelmed
Excited, emotional, welcomed, and free

Because when we thought we had left our communities
And left everything we knew behind us
We had actually found our own community
Created by each and every person in that small little town

I had not lost the city of dreams and hopes 
Or the city of those who seeked to change the world
I had not lost the city I once knew
I had only found another one
One called UWC.

​Guest Writer - UWC-USA

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