Between these walls lie hope

A special place 

Hope of one day achieving a dream

Perhaps a piece of paper with your name on it

Stating that you managed to master a certain degree

A piece of paper that can land you a career

A foot in the right path perhaps

 

They hold dreams

Dreams of a naive young adult 

Making a name for himself

Becoming someone greater in life

Perhaps a teacher or a doctor

A place where first-generation college students can succeed their ancestors

A kid from Segundo Barrio nothing more than a hunger to thrive

No longer have to settle for minimum wage jobs and eating eggs and beans everyday

 

Hoping to break those walls 

The deeds and goals set before them

Overcoming barriers that past generations struggled to surpass

A veteran seeking to go back to school and build on their accolades

A dream of becoming 

Someone of importance and stature

Resourceful to society

 

Dreams are created within these walls

This place breaths life and optimism Crowded halls that are roamed by brilliant young minds that quest for knowledge

Future innovators and leaders

One is a pea in a large pond

A tree in a giant forrest

One of many great thinkers

They quest for a bright future

All with unique aspirations in life

A place where strength is tested and Only the strong persevere

Only the strong stick to their dreams

Only the strong follow through

It is not a place for everyone

No matter how much previous teachers and parents have try to embed this notion in our heads.

 

Going class to class 

Professor to professor

Lecture followed by a lab class

Gathering knowledge from each single course

Long stressful nights studying for Algebra exams

Learning the square root of a number

Trying to find X and Y 

Flipping through unlegible notes 

Attempting to stick information into ones memory 

Hoping that the end result of our time and money invested is returned in our favor one day.

That one day we may get to walk the aisle along with our colleagues wearing our caps and gowns

Holding our degrees up with pride and joy!

Looking back at our family members with a giant smile

Thinking to ourselves "I did it!"

 

That is why this place is special

It is unique it is own way

That is why 

Between these walls lie hope.