Dating : Building a New Life as an Immigrant Family in America

Coming from a hispanic family on Long Island was not always easy for Hofstra student Alyssa Correa. In elementary school and middle school she always felt she was different from the other students. But now, at 20-years-old, she could not be more proud of the life her immigrant parents built for her.

At just six years old Lillianne Correa, 56, left communist Cuba to come to the United States. But it was not an easy process. In 1959 Fidel Castro took over Lillianne’s home country and after ten years of living under his communism, her father knew he had to get his wife, three children, and grandmother out. He worked in the sugar cane fields for two years without seeing his family to be able to obtain visas for all of them.

Before going right to the United States Lillianne’s family had to go to Spain for another two years. When they finally landed in the United States, they had to start all over again in a brand new country with a completely different language.

“My father gave everything for the freedom of his family. Without him, my siblings and I would have become property to the country,” said Lillianne.

Jairo Correa, 56, had a different experience coming to the United States. He was living in Colombia and he was about 16 when everything, such as the drug cartel, began to spiral out of control. College was not an option for Jairo because it was only for people that had money. “We were just sitting ducks, doing nothing. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves,” explained Jairo.

His grandmother helped him obtain his passport and visa to leave Colombia, go to the United States to escape trouble, and to provide for the family. He came to the United States alone with only 80 dollars in his pocket and immediately started looking for work. “I had to pay my grandmother back for what she did for me and then make money to support the family I left back in Colombia.” Jairo didn’t speak any english so he eventually found a man who worked at a restaurant with a similar complexion and spoke the same language as him. That man gave Jairo his first job in the United States.

“I met Lillianne and then my life changed,” said Jairo. The two met through Lillianne’s brother who worked with Jairo. “Her parents were old fashioned and her brother’s friends would have to stay outside the house, one day we broke the rules and finally met and that was it.” Now they have three children and will be celebrating their 31th wedding anniversary in May.

Neither of them were given the opportunity to attend college, but they are so proud of their children being first generation college students. “Everybody’s lives are different. There are different destinies for a person and there are no rules,” said Jairo.

Jairo currently works for the Town of Hempstead Water Department and Lillianne works with the Incorporated Village of Valley Stream as a bilingual clerk. “Being a bilingual clerk is where my first language came in. We now have pensions and 401ks, it’s a dream.”

The only struggles the Correa’s still face are issues every family deals with, such as putting their kids through college. “There are struggles in every family but being an immigrant does not make that any different,” said Lillianne. The language barrier continues to be a problem for Jairo since he came to the United States in his late teens and could only speak Spanish, but they still feel very accepted here.

Alyssa is so proud of her parents and is grateful for the life they gave her.

“It’s everything about me. They tell me about their struggles every day and I learn new things every day. It’s who I am. I feel so connected to those roots and the pride of being hispanic. All that ties into who I am and my values. I think about my parents and I appreciate all their hard work. The reason I stayed home from college is because I’m so connected to my family.”

“Being home reminds me of where I’m from. I should be proud of who I am. I can’t help but be proud, it’s impossible, It’s beautiful.”

(Was written in 2019 but recently added to Medium)