It has been a long time since my dad passed away. Even now, my mom
still doesn’t try to think about my dad too much. She told me that he
is in a better place now. My mom started her new life but that doesn't
mean that we completely forget about my dad, no, that can't be. Only the
memories of him are left. To get through our daily lives, we decided to stop
thinking about him so as not to have more pain in our heart and let my dad
rest and let his soul rest in peace. Thanks to mom today we are here. She fought so that we could grow strong and healthy, she did everything possible to have enough food to feed us, she never gave up on us, and had to work hard. My mother worked in the Capital of Guatemala, but there was a
problem where she worked so she left there and eventually lost her job and
had to look for another job. She spent two weeks looking for something new
but everyone she talked to said they couldn't hire any more workers.

My mom grew sad. I remember talking to her saying, “Mom, don't worry, it will be okay.” That same day my uncle called my mom. He lives in Minnesota and my mom told him everything that had happened and my uncle said he would try to help. My uncle said, “You’re ready to come here, I'll pay you for the ticket and everything else.”My mom was very happy since she had always wanted to come here and my mom told my uncle, “I don't want to go to Minnesota, I want to go to Boston”. My mom does not have relatives living here but she does have neighbors. We stayed with them the first day but the house was very small and in a few days we got a rental for the three of us, me, my mom, and my brother. We would go looking for work and after some time, we found jobs. We needed to fill the entire house we had with things, so we needed money. After I found a job, I decided to go to school. I was very happy after hearing my mom say, “Let's go and sign you up.”

We arrived and waited about an hour for them to serve us and everything
went well and my first day of school was strange, but in a few days I got used
to it and now it's like my second home. My mother is very grateful to God
for giving her another opportunity for her to be happy with her children
and I love her very much. Despite many things she faced, she never gave
up. I grew up watching my mother overcome every obstacle that life gave
her. Now I am strong because I was raised by someone stronger than me.
My goal now is to take care of my mother as much as I can because she has
suffered a lot to give us a better life, a great life just like she gave to me.

Mom also wants me to be someone in the future. I will achieve whatever I
need to because I want her to be proud of me. I do not want to disappoint
her. As immigrants, we have to learn to live life as part of the United States.
For me it is a little difficult because of the language, the cultures, and the
people. Sometimes, it is as if we are living in a dream, but I have to learn to
live with people here in America.

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