Yesterday, in my English class, the teacher asked each of the students what their favorite place was. That was a good question for me because my favorite place is a bit unusual. I knew that when I said it, everyone would laugh. The teacher asked each of my classmates first. I dreaded hearing my name called, and when my turn came, I did not know if I could say that my favorite place was the bathroom. Of course everyone laughed. “Why is that your favorite place?” people asked. Why? Because it is the only place that I have all my privacy. When I am anxious, I usually go into the bathroom until I feel better. When I am thinking out loud, I go into the bathroom so people don’t think I am going crazy. When I want to sing with my horrible voice, I go into the shower.

I could spend hours in the bathroom. But when I hear that knocking, I have to stop dreaming and return to reality. This is not just my bathroom; I share it with others. My dream is, when I have my own house, there will be, in my bedroom, a bathroom just for me.

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Born in Colombia, Deisy Aragon came to New York 20 years ago. She lives in Brooklyn with her son. She loves the diversity in New York City. She attends ESOL class at the Prospect Park YMCA’s New Americans Initiative program. She would like to enter higher education and take some courses in the field of medicine. Nabila Khan is the director of the NAI program, and Donna Powers is Deisy Aragon’s teacher.