Growing Up To My Family

Growing up I was lucky enough to have nothing but positivity around me, may that be from my family, my friends, or the close knit community that I was a part of, but it all come together to create an uprising that I am proud to call my own.

Although many of these aspects around me lead to who I am today as an individual, I would like to focus on my family and the effects it has had on me. I grew up in a big family with that family always being around the corner from me, which still didn’t stop me from bragging any time my grandpa would pick me up from kindergarten to anyone willing -or not- to listen. I grew up always sure of two things: one, every Saturday I would go grocery shopping with my grandpa and he’d tell me stories ranging from him

But his sacrifices didn’t stop there; when he married my grandmother and had 5 of their 8 children he was having difficulties supplying for all of them, so he decided to cross into the U.S through the desert, a walk that takes approximately 3 days nonstop, a story that when told by him made you appreciate every ounce of water and every calorie you’ve ever consumed, since during his 3 day journey he had no food or water which is why when he finally drank something he puked it out because of his stomach’s digestive juices and the fact that his body had began to “eat itself” because of the lack of sugar or fat in the body. Among other stories. But my point here is that he grew up in a poor household having to dropout of school, something he was very passionate about, to support his family, he had to find a way to stay alive and keep his family fed during an economic bust for the Mexican economy, he had to go to a different country to find better opportunities to be able to improve his kids’ and wife’s lives back home, he bravely fought lung cancer without as much as a cry coming out of him. And throughout all of this he still managed to keep his head up, to appreciate life, and be as positive as he could be; he literally sacrificed everything and some for his family and never looked back and to think that that’s one of the main people that raised me makes me feel honored and appreciative of the people who were put into my