“Yo quiero que estudies mucho y que te pongas attenta de lo que quieres estudiar y lo que quieres hacer en la vida.” This is what my dad, Juan, tells me whenever we talk about what I want to do in life. He sometimes says that I should work hard to get what I want in order for me to have a better life than what he had. My dad is that strict, funny, kinda short and stubby type of guy, but I love him and I’ll do anything that will make him be proud of me.

My dad growing up in Cuernava Morelos, Mexico didn’t have all the things that he wanted. He didn’t really have a lot of materials like us as his children do today because of money issues his family had. My siblings and I have some of the things my dad didn’t have when he was younger like toys. He also didn’t have a lot of technology, maybe because of the year it was. He also didn’t have a car, instead he had a donkey when he was about 9 years old. We sometimes take advantage of that and he’ll end up saying “Si supieran lo que tenía yo cuando era sus edades. Si supieran como yo vivi.” After he gives us a whole lecture on how we shouldn’t be greedy, we end up realizing that yeah, we might have a lot of the things my dad would’ve liked to have when he was our age and we shouldn’t be greedy and selfish. My dad now has a good phone he uses all the time to play “Clash of Clans” on, a computer, and materials that he would’ve enjoyed having when he was younger, but he still uses them with care because he isn’t greedy. If we break something or our phone’s screen cracks he says “a ustedes no les importa que esto ya no sirve porque ustedes no lo compraron.” He takes care of his electronics and valuables very well because it’s true, some things can be expensive and to have them just to end up breaking them there really isn’t a point in having wasted money on it.

My grandpa died at the age of 43 when my dad was 20 years old, so due to his sudden death caused by a heart attack, my dad had to help my grandma take care of my aunts and uncles, his younger siblings. Him being the oldest, he was expected to take care of the all of his 5 brothers and 5 sisters when some of them were at the age of 4. My dad had to look for any job that pays good and help his mom help raise the kids. To this day my dad still helps his family back in Mexico by sending them money about twice a month because even though they work and have their own lives, he still wants to help them and be there for them like a father.

My dad not only had to stand up and be a father figure to his younger siblings, he also created his own little family and he’s raising us to be good adults/teenagers/kids. He expects too much from us but in a good way and we known that if we do something terribly bad we might not be able to get what we want. He once told me and my older sister, “Yo quiero ver el dia que ustedes se me van y se me casan pero eso necesita pasar cuando ustedes terminen de estudiar y graduarse del colegio y tengan un trabajo bueno o cuando ya saben que van en la direccion que necesiten estar.”

We know my dad wants whatever is best for us and that we have to keep fighting for our goals without any distractions.

He might’ve not grown up with a lot but he was a happy person when he was younger and now to this day. That makes me know that you don’t need a lot of things to be happy and you should be thankful and appreciate all the big and little things in life. My dad inspires me because at a young age he didn’t have enough and the death of his own dad might’ve just crushed him, but he’s still going on with life and keeps making his family happy and proud. My dad is my hero and my number reason to succeed in life and because of who he is I am thankful to have such a strong and amazing guy as my father.

Dad’s Response: First, I’d like to thank God that my kids have a good health and for them to be good people with a good heart and not be liars. I want them to study so they can have better opportunities in life and they know how to value themselves and they know how to choose what’s best for them. I hope they know how to choose in life what’s good for them personally and professionally. I’ll be very proud to know that they've made a good decision in their studies.