It was a humid Thursday night around 7:30 pm, the world around me was getting dark. All I can think at night was how I saw a man get brutally executed. An image that will forever haunt me. It’s like a daily thing now, dead bodies are laying in the street because of the Cartels, especially The New Generation Cartel. Since they have been here, everyday has been like a crime scene. On November 21 was the day my life changed forever. I woke up to our little hut empty, emptier than usual, i saw my mom run, I got up fast and asked her what's happening to which she replied with ‘’ Get your stuff, we’re leaving”. I didn’t know to react for a minute, so I just started packing what I can into my little backpack. I asked my dad if he’s going too, which he replied “No I have to stay and take care of abuelita” I was confused at first, but I accepted the fact that I may or may not see my papa ever again.

We’ve been walking for awhile now, the coyote told me and my mom to “stay put” after 5 minutes of standing, we heard multiple gun shots we heard the coyote yell “RUN!” To which me and my mother ran, we didn’t look back. They were chasing us, we found a cave and we lost them. My mother told me “If anything happens, just know I love you”. I looked down and see her taking off one of her most prized possessions, that has passed down for 3 generations Rosario. That night we slept in the cold cave. We woke at 5 in the morning, we went on with our travels, we had around 4 miles left until, we reached a place called “Texas”.

Life here in Texas is so strange. The people, the towns, the stores, the atmosphere was very different from Michoacán, the houses here are very big and the cities are way much cleaner then the ones in Michoacán. The work however has been very hard to keep and also get .I've learned throughout the years, everyone has a struggle. Within a couple of months my mother passed away due to diabetes. I've learned to not take life for granted and to reach for new opportunities whenever they're presented to me. I've been promoted to manager of my company now i get a lot of money and now live a humble, happy stable life.