Chapter 14

 

Chapter 14: A New Purpose

Becky sat in Mr. Alvarez’s office again, but this time, she wasn’t just there to listen.

She had a notebook open, taking notes.

She had questions.

And she wanted answers.

“Becky,” Mr. Alvarez said, smiling at her, “you ask more questions than most law students I know.”

Becky blushed. “I just… I want to understand. I want to help.”

Her parents smiled at her proudly.

Her father squeezed her shoulder. “You already are, mi amor.”

Researching the Law

That night, Becky sat at the kitchen table with her diary open, but instead of writing about her feelings, she was writing laws.

She had searched online for how to become a lawyer and found out she would need to go to college, then law school.

That was a long way away, but she didn’t care.

She had a plan now.

“Dear Diary,
I used to think lawyers were just people who talked in court. But now I know they do so much more. They fight for families like mine. They don’t just follow the law—they try to change it.

I want to be one of them.”

Attending Meetings

Becky started going with her parents to their lawyer meetings. She sat quietly at first, listening as Mr. Alvarez explained their case.

But after a while, she started asking questions.

“What happens if they don’t win?”
“What other ways can they stay?”
“Can they apply for something to make them legal?”

Gabriela grinned at her. “I think we have a future attorney in the room.”

Becky smiled. She liked the sound of that.

A School Project That Matters

At school, Becky’s teacher assigned a project:

“Write about a career you want to pursue.”

Becky didn’t even have to think.

She wrote about being an immigration lawyer—how she wanted to help families stay together, how she never wanted another kid to go through what she did.

When she presented it to the class, Ms. Garcia wiped a tear from her eye.

“This is beautiful, Becky,” she said.

Mia whispered, “I bet you’ll be the best lawyer ever.”

Becky smiled.

One day, she would be.

That night, she wrote in her diary:

“Dear Diary,
I used to feel powerless. Like I couldn’t do anything. Like the world decided things for me.

But I don’t feel that way anymore.

I know who I want to be.
I know what I want to do.

I’m going to fight for families like mine.
I’m going to make a difference.
One day, I’ll stand in a courtroom, just like Mr. Alvarez, and I’ll say the words:

‘Your Honor, this family belongs here.’

And I will make sure they listen.”

She closed her diary, feeling something she hadn’t felt before.

Not just hope.

Purpose.