The Long Drive

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The Long Drive

• by
• Dan Cortez

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Traffic . . .
Bad weather . . .
It can take me 20 minutes to get to school!
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Thats only minutes more than usual, but I
still complain.
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But my cousin Maria drives from Mexico . . .
all the way to Texas so she can attend school
there.
How does she do that?
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• Every Monday morning, she gets up at 500 a.m.
  to get on the road.
• Sometimes it takes her three hours to get to
  school.
• She often waits over an hour to cross the border.

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Marias dad lives and works in El Paso.
Why?
They are both American citizens.
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Although Marias family lives in Mexico, her
father stays in El Paso where he has a good job.
He works hard to support his family.
It is a big sacrifice to see them only once in a
while.
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Although Maria travels hours to school, she never
complains. Like her dad, she wants to get ahead.
She knows she is lucky to go to high school as a
United States citizen.
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Maria lives withher mom andsiblings inMexico
onweekends.
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Other students who illegally cross the border
risk their lives to go to school here.
How do they risk their lives?
How dangerous is it?
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Some are caught by the Border Patrol.
Luckily, the guards are more worried about drug
smugglers, so the students get off easy.
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Each year about 400 people die trying to cross
the border between Mexico and the United States.
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When I think of Maria and those other kids, I
feel grateful just to be able to go to this high
school!
The End