March 1, 2017

Seventh Grader Ave Doster from Cornelia Connelly Center in New York City shares her creative writing piece about a teenager’s challenging journey from Cuba to America.

My name is Ana
Ana-Luisia
I live in Cuba
And I’m 15

I’m sitting cross legged on the beach
The cold brisk wind blowing off the ocean sweeps through my long coarse hair and on my face causing my hazel eyes to water
I’m watching the waves form and crash
Form and crash
Form and crash
Over and over again
Each wave collapses with a hypnotizing roar
Over and over again
A tear shed from my eyes
Because I’ve come to the vivid realization that everything is gone
Home, gone
Clothes, gone
Money, gone
Thanks to Hurricane Mathew
A horrendous coastal storm that took the lives of many
My house was washed away, swept straight into the deep crevices of the ocean and wiped off the face of the earth
All my belongings are gone
And there’s nothing I can do about that
Sadly enough

We can’t stay here
And we won’t

We make it to Honduras
I don’t like it here either
But most of all I didn’t like the journey here
We came on a boat
It was horrific, frightening, traumatizing
I dreaded every second
Seventy innocent people just like me packed on a insecure boat made for only thirty

We have no money for shelter
Only for food and water
We’re saving for our excruciating long journey to go to America
I’m laying on my back in a field of dirt
No trees, no grass
Just dirt and pebbles that stick into the back of my only t-shirt that still reeks of rotten fish from our horrifying commute here
I’m staring into the stars of the night
Each star stares right back at me, except deeper
I gently start to close my eyes
Each star blurs into a strike of lightning as I continue to stitch them closer and closer together
I soon reach darkness
Absolute full and entire darkness
No trace of light or movement
No trace of anything
Anything at all
I drift into an endless sleep of nothingness
I didn’t dream
I never do
I don’t know why
I just don’t

I wake up the next morning more tired than I was when I fell asleep
I’m utterly going to loathe these next couple weeks

And I did
The past 4 weeks has been a combination of being on foot, walking for miles on end and riding buses and trains for hours
We even rode a plane
It was undoubtedly, absolutely, mesmerizing
I saw miles and miles of endless cotton candy clouds
I was on top of the world and the possibilities of my future were infinite
I stared out the window as we took off
I felt as if I was leaving the whole universe behind
Everything, everyone, besides the people next to me, were gone
Sucked directly into oblivion and never to come across my mind again
I was leaving everything from the past behind me
It felt refreshing
I’m beginning a new life in America
A fresh start of unbounded opportunities

America is here, here is America
It isn’t entirely what it’s put out to be
But it’s better, safer and and an overall change for the better
It was a rugged journey
But it was worth it
It always will be

My name is Ana
Ana-Luisia
I live in Florida
And I’m 16

I’m sitting cross legged on Miami beach
The cold brisk wind blowing off the ocean sweeps through my long coarse hair and on my face causing my eyes to water
I’m watching the waves form and crash
Form and crash
Form and crash
Over and over again