2008 Woodie Awards
Speak Up
Do not let what others may say keep you from voicing your opinion
by Daniela Guevara
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Opinion
Someone dislikes or disagrees with what you have to say. Awesome! That's the fun of it. Not everyone has the same point of view, and that's one of the things that makes this world more interesting.
Of course that's not how I felt when someone criticized my opinion about immigration in the United States.
After four years of being a columnist for The Clayton Tribune, a newspaper from Clayton, I decided to write my own opinion about second generation immigrants who cannot receive a college education. These are students who were brought, illegally, at a young age to the United States by their parents. They grew up here and recognize the United States as their country. ` Now they are being denied a higher education because of their legal status, something they didn't choose.
I never wrote about immigration issues because I first wanted to get the whole story to support my opinion. During the summer, I worked at a radio station in Atlanta as a radio broadcaster and had the opportunity to interview activists who were for and against an immigration reform. I even had the opportunity to be an activist for a day and a guest speaker at a rally. After this experience, I was still a little afraid of the reaction of the community. However, I decided to get out of my comfort zone and speak up.
My article supporting illegal immigrants who want to get a higher education was published in The Clayton Tribune. Clayton, a small city in the northeast with little diversity, so a high percentage of the people still feel uncomfortable about opening up to other ideas and cultures.
In the following issues after my column was published, several people wrote letters to the editor addressing my article. Out of six, only one agreed with me; the rest took it personally and even told the editor that I shouldn't write anymore. I felt bad because people were attacking my point of view and me as a person. That bad feeling didn't last long.
Even though some people disagreed and trashed my article and me as a journalist, others rewarded me for speaking up. Because of that article, a newspaper from Atlanta nominated me as Character of the Year 2007 along with three Consuls, activists and businessmen. I was the youngest, but very proud to be on the list.
Next time you have a burning feeling to speak your opinion, don't think twice.
Of course that's not how I felt when someone criticized my opinion about immigration in the United States.
After four years of being a columnist for The Clayton Tribune, a newspaper from Clayton, I decided to write my own opinion about second generation immigrants who cannot receive a college education. These are students who were brought, illegally, at a young age to the United States by their parents. They grew up here and recognize the United States as their country. ` Now they are being denied a higher education because of their legal status, something they didn't choose.
I never wrote about immigration issues because I first wanted to get the whole story to support my opinion. During the summer, I worked at a radio station in Atlanta as a radio broadcaster and had the opportunity to interview activists who were for and against an immigration reform. I even had the opportunity to be an activist for a day and a guest speaker at a rally. After this experience, I was still a little afraid of the reaction of the community. However, I decided to get out of my comfort zone and speak up.
My article supporting illegal immigrants who want to get a higher education was published in The Clayton Tribune. Clayton, a small city in the northeast with little diversity, so a high percentage of the people still feel uncomfortable about opening up to other ideas and cultures.
In the following issues after my column was published, several people wrote letters to the editor addressing my article. Out of six, only one agreed with me; the rest took it personally and even told the editor that I shouldn't write anymore. I felt bad because people were attacking my point of view and me as a person. That bad feeling didn't last long.
Even though some people disagreed and trashed my article and me as a journalist, others rewarded me for speaking up. Because of that article, a newspaper from Atlanta nominated me as Character of the Year 2007 along with three Consuls, activists and businessmen. I was the youngest, but very proud to be on the list.
Next time you have a burning feeling to speak your opinion, don't think twice.
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