When High School Went Wrong

Once school was over (or once they got home if they didn’t make it on time), my mom and her siblings would work in their family’s tortilleria—which is a store that sells fresh corn tortillas—but this job was considered dangerous for children because it used a lot of heavy machinery, but times were tough and it had to be done regardless of who is doing it. My mom had to dump the masa mixture into the machine, and she would have to add water to it to make the dough (however or wherever the ingredients went into). Once she combined all the ingredients, she would have to turn the machine on to produce the tortillas (my mom explained the dangerous process for a 12 year old, but it didn’t make sense). Once the work day was over, she and her siblings

Around this time, my mom was around 12 years old (which is about 1984), and this is when the Mexican tradition came to light. Men were seen as more dominant (and smarter), so my mom’s two younger brothers got the option to continue going to school, and her dad would pay for their tuition because only “the man” should get an education because they were the only ones capable of doing it. This was seen as unfair because my mom wanted to continue, but her parents (mostly father) denied her that opportunity because they weren’t going to pay tuition for a girl because that wasn’t seen as normal/traditional. Only one of my mother’s brothers continued with school. This was a heart breaking moment for my mom because her whole life she dreamed about going to school, finishing school, going to UNAM, and becoming a doctor. My mom had high hopes for herself, she even considered joining the military to have the opportunity to study medicine, but that didn’t work because her parents would never approve of a girl (woman) doing anything with her life; a woman should be a house-wife and rely on her husband, but this idea is