I was born in November of 2006 in the beautiful country of Guatemala. I am 17 years old and I am the fourth daughter of my parents. In Guatemala, I lived alone with my parents, but I emigrated to the United States at 16 years old to join my brothers. I knew that for a long time I would not see my parents and other relatives again, including my maternal grandmother and my maternal grandfather, even though he can travel to the United States and I have a chance to see him when he does.

I was afraid that bad things would happen to me. It was my first time travel-
ing alone on such a long road without knowing what could happen to me,
risking a lot. When I left home, I asked God to take great care of me and
guide me on my path. He would take control of my trip because I didn't
know what could happen to me, he would also take care of my parents, who
would be left living alone at home. He would take care of my grandmother,
her health was unstable and at any moment her heart would stop beating.
I also had to take care of my grandfather, one of the people I love most in this life.

I left my house in September of 2023 in the morning with my parents, we
all had tears in our eyes and I had a lump in my throat. They took me to the
place where I would meet the person who would bring me to the United
States. The trip lasted 6 hours. Arriving at the place where we had agreed,
my heart was broken into a thousand pieces just thinking that I would leave
everything behind, that if God would allow me to reach the place where my
brothers were, that I would have to start a new life with a different language.
A life I would have to share with people from other countries with different
languages and different personalities. I would need to start from scratch.

We arrived at the place where they were waiting for me, I hugged my par-
ents very tightly, gave them a kiss on the cheek, and I said goodbye! The

man took me to a hotel where I spent one night. The next day they took me
to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where I spent two days and two nights in a house
without food. I met up with 3 other kids who would cross with me while I
was in that house. At 5 in the morning they left us on the bank of a river that
we had to cross on foot to be able to hand ourselves over to immigration. We
arrived at the point where they were going to hand me over to immigration,
they took me and kept me there for 4 days. Then, they took me to a home
where I spent 12 days and during that time they kept communicating with
my brother, asking why he was going to receive me here in the United States.
I needed to send some papers so I could leave there. I completed everything
they asked of me and they told me that they could bring me to my brother
or pay for a plane ticket.

On September 27th they took me to New York, where I stayed in a home,
until they picked me up and brought me to Lynn, MA where I now live with
my brothers. I currently spend my time studying, working and taking care
of my nephews in my free time. I learn from my mistakes and enjoy my life
with my brothers, but I miss my other family who are in Guatemala, especially my parents.

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