For me, Mexico has always has been full of underlying hope: The hope of a better life. However, this hope that has kept us spiritually afloat has not been well served by creating opportunities for Mexicans.
I am a high school student and at a time when I need to decide what steps to take in the coming years in my life I am, frankly, in a dilemma.
On one side, my life in Mexico is full of fun and happiness but on the other side is the feeling that I will get a better education in another country. This has led me to think that despite all of the talent in our country, hope is not enough. Hope only feeds the spirit but not the intellect, and we feel like we need to leave Mexico to go to other countries for better opportunities.
It is sad to think about the “brain drain” happening to Mexico with the number of Mexicans that have the initiative and passion for progress leaving the country in search for something that Mexico can’t give them.
Mexico is fertile land that we’re still cultivating with hoes and spades but not with the tractors we need. The hope is not enough and our youth need more than that. If Mexico could become a country with more opportunities for receiving a good education and a better future for those who graduate, we could make the shift from just hope to reality.
This is what we deserve and what we can achieve if we overcome empty promises of a better country that come every six years with each election, through citizen action to create a better Mexico.
Written by Sofia Ramos for “Caras de México”. Click here to read more articles examining Mexican identity.