It’s that time of the year when many high school seniors must decide: which college should they attend? For some, the decision is easy. For others, like my daughter, this is a major, ponderous decision which cannot be made merely by reading a website or watching the incredible DVDS that colleges now provide. Rather, a visit to the final contenders is an absolute necessity in order to see how each college “feels”. As my husband and I found ourselves on the road for the second weekend in a row, headed this time towards the Midwest ( last weekend was Pittsburgh) and after driving a combined 2,000 miles in just two weeks, we turned wearily towards each other and asked” “Why?”.

The answer was simple: because we love our child and want only the best for her. Deciding on a college or university, a place where she will live for the next four years of her life, where she will study, make friends and have experiences that will forever change and influence her, is a decision not to be taken lightly. For these reasons, until the May 1st tuition deposit is due, we will continue to be road warriors and extol the virtues of EZPASS.

Despite our sleep deprivation, there’s another reason why we do this: because we, and our daughter, are extremely lucky. She is a U.S. citizen and can attend whatever college or university will accept her, provided that she (we) can pay the bills and/or obtain student loans.  Our daughter’s academic life and future will not end with the conferring of her high school diploma in June but rather when she decides that she has reached her desired study level.

Paula’s parents are not so lucky. Paula is in the very top of her class, a ranked tennis player and a child any family would be proud to claim as their own. Paula’s parents, who love her dearly, would gladly to drive her all over the country to allow her to choose her favorite college but they can’t; they are in the U.S. illegally and don’t have driver’s licenses. Most importantly, however, Paula is also in the U.S. illegally so her dreams of higher education, of a future in the country that she has lived in for the last 17 years, are not dreams but rather nightmares. Her many scholarship offers cannot be accepted, for without a social security number and legal status, without the passage of the Dream Act, Paula has no future.

During the next few weeks my husband and I will continue our short and long road trips, putting mileage on our car, to help our daughter realize her dream. Each time we climb behind the wheel and begin to feel weary we will pause for a moment and think of Paula and her parents. We will hope and pray that their nightmares of dreams deferred and abandoned will end in the near future by the passage of the much needed and much awaited Dream Act.