Source: I Grew Up In The 70s & 80s Facebook Page
A childhood game of marbles taught me my first lesson in resilience—one that continues to shape my mission for community, culture, and immigration reform.
Four years ago, I shared this story as a reminder of the invaluable contributions of immigrants and the urgent need for immigration reform. Today, it remains just as relevant.
I often hear anti-immigrant voices insisting, “It’s not that I don’t like immigrants; it’s just that they should come here the legal way!” While I choose not to engage with the hostility, a question lingers in my mind: Why is it easier for some to support mass deportations, detentions, and family separations than to demand that our leaders fix a broken immigration system?
The United States, a self-proclaimed global superpower, negotiates peace treaties, intervenes in conflicts, and claims leadership on the world stage. Yet, we remain incapable of passing meaningful immigration reform—even when our economy desperately relies on immigrant labor. Why?
With that in mind, I offer this story as a testament to the immigrant spirit, a spirit that embodies resilience, ingenuity, and determination. Perhaps this story will also serve as a nudge—an invitation to advocate for reform rather than accept the continued cycle of fear and uncertainty for immigrant communities.
Ringer Match : AI Generation
Forbes describes the entrepreneurial spirit as a mindset that actively seeks out change rather than merely reacting to it. Harvard Business Review recommends adopting an immigrant mindset to advance one’s career. Why? Because the immigrant spirit mirrors the entrepreneurial drive—it thrives on an open mind, a willingness to adapt, and the resolve to succeed despite obstacles. It is a courageous spirit stepping beyond its comfort zone into the unknown. It is humble, yet unwavering, knowing that turning back is not an option.
If you had asked me years ago whether I saw myself this way, I would have laughed and said, “No way!” But looking back, I now recognize that while I may not have been born with this spirit, it was instilled in me by mi Mamá y abuela. Out of necessity, I learned that embracing change wasn’t just an advantage—it was survival. It was the key to progress, not just for myself but for those around me.
Practice is key. One morning, while chatting with a community member at my business, the SV Cultural Hub, I was reminded of a childhood experience that may have been one of my earliest displays of the immigrant entrepreneurial spirit.
Remember las canicas, a marble game called Ringer? As a child, I spent two years resisting assimilation into U.S. culture, but eventually, I found another way—integrating through a match of canicas. I didn’t know that Ringer was what canicas were called at the time; I only knew that it looked fun, and winning meant keeping the marbles you knocked out!
Ringer was the king of schoolyard games, but I had no canicas of my own. My mother, a single parent, couldn’t afford extras, and I knew better than to ask. So, I made a plan: I negotiated a deal with a classmate to borrow a shooter and some mibs, the fancy names for canicas. The agreement was simple—whatever marbles I won, we’d split evenly. I played for keepsies.
With my loaner set, I played—and I won. Soon, I had a decent collection of mibs and my own shooter. I paid back my loan, but my success didn’t sit well with my classmates. The Mexican girl who never brought her own marbles was suddenly a force to be reckoned with. I was on a roll—until complaints reached the parents, and my marble enterprise was shut down. As they say, “You win some, you lose some.”
This is who I am. This is what my immigrant entrepreneurial espíritu is—a mission, my mission to create social change through language, culture, and community. It’s about building genuine relationships, fostering professional growth, sharing experiences, and organizing cultural events that unite diverse people. The SV Cultural Hub is a humble, unique, and imperfect space full of the immigrant entrepreneurial spirit.
I invite you to be part of this third space. Make the SV Cultural Hub your third place—your workspace away from home, your go-to study spot para café, conversación y conexión— for coffee, conversation, and connection. More importantly, make it a space where you share and experience new cultures, develop new skills, and expand your network. If you are not in my community, find a third space to connect with people different from you. Make getting uncomfortable your mission—turning back is not an option.
Because at the heart of it all, the immigrant spirit isn’t just about survival—it’s about thriving, innovating, and building a future for all of us.
If you enjoy my stories and value the art of writing, you can support my craft by sharing this story and/or buying me a cup of café con leche.