Pursuing a Better Tomorrow
By Blanca De La Rosa

What would you give up today for a better tomorrow? Many individuals give up the only world they know to give their families a better tomorrow; exchanging family and friends for a lonely existence in a new world. Many put themselves and their families in harm’s way by embarking on treacherous trips; risking their lives to escape situations in their homelands that they perceive as much more dangerous than the trip itself.

Most immigrants pursue the basic needs many of us take for granted: safety, food, and shelter. They seek a better and safer life for themselves and their families and to accomplish what they would or could not attain in their homeland.

For centuries, people from other nations have been drawn to the U.S., the land of opportunity where anything is possible. All of those groups have contributed to the United States’ success and diversity. For many years, the U.S. has been slowly evolving into a multicultural and multireligious nation.

Once in the U.S., immigrants opt to live in communities with others from their native countries or speak their native language, as they adapt to the lifestyle, culture, and language. The familiarity of custom offers a sense of security by providing the services, manners, and the native tongue of the old country while diminishing the likelihood of stumbling linguistically and culturally.

In spite of a supportive community, the adaptation process can still be arduous, as immigrants must navigate educational challenges along with the psychosocial consequences that emerge as they struggle to learn a new language and fit into a new community.

While discovering their new identity without compromising the values of the old world, immigrants continually balance the two worlds. As they struggle to learn the new language and culture, they delicately balance an English-speaking life for conducting day-to-day business and the native-language-speaking life of family and friends.

My grandfather left his village Orense, Spain, at the age of 16, in the hopes of building a better tomorrow for himself and his descendants. He gave up the only world he knew for a lonely existence in the New World.

My family’s origin started with a humble background, and I’ve often wondered what my life would have been like had we not immigrated to the United States. When I visit this beautiful yet impoverished island of the Dominican Republic and see the need and want in the eyes of some of the people, I think, “That could have been me.” So, I feel incredibly blessed and grateful for everything that I have been able to obtain and accomplish.

If someone had told me that my life would unfold the way it has, full of untold blessings and opportunities, I wouldn’t have believed them. A life that I, as an immigrant growing up in New York City’s projects, could not have imagined, even in my wildest dreams.

I want to thank my publisher, Isabel Montes of Angels Fortune Editorials, based in Barcelona, Spain, for believing in me and publishing Pursuing a Better Tomorrow and En busca de una mañana mejor. Angels Fortune is much more than a publisher, Isabel brings her authors into the Angel’s Fortune family and mentors, inspires, coaches, and befriends them with the sole purpose of discovering literary talent and guiding them through the path of publication.

Blanca De La Rosa was born in the Dominican Republic. She grew up in the projects of the upper west side of Manhattan in New York, during the time before the Hispanic population developed the supportive Latino community which exists today. She graduated from Pace University with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business Management and established a successful 34-year career rising through the ranks of Mobil/ExxonMobil Oil Corporation. De La Rosa retired from ExxonMobil after 34 years of service. She is also the author of Empower Yourself for an Amazing Career, in which she shares career advice drawing from her own successes.