I was born in 2005 and started a life from scratch like any other human
or person. I grew little by little. At the age of 5, I started primary school
and from there I began my academic life, thank God. With my parents
and my brothers surrounding me, I continued school. I was still studying in
primary school when a feeling that I would not wish on anyone knocked on
the door of my life. At around 10 years old I found out that my grandfather
was diagnosed with cancer, which as the days went by did not improve, but
rather on the contrary, with each passing day he got worse and until one
day in the early morning he simply died.

It is a day that still weighs on me even now. My grandfather shared a lot of
time with me and together, we made a lot of memories. Sometime later I
began to assimilate to my new way of life without my grandfather and even
understand that death is part of human life. A year later, when I turned 11
and we moved to another state where my mother's family came from. At
just 11, I packed my memories and a suitcase and left for a place I was not used to and like before, during that time period after a death and living your
own life, little by little I adapted to something new once again. In that same
year, I entered middle school where I would meet new people and make
new friends. I also continued to do well, although I confess it was not easy.
I tried to give my best when I was studying.

After finishing middle school, I began to study a technical degree right there
at that same school since I had been happy there the previous year. I knew
that in order to have a great life with opportunities awarded to me, I had to
study hard and work hard. I started the program with other students, but unfortunately after only 3 months, I had to leave school because I had gotten sick. Another change had come into my life yet again. Like so many in my culture, we are not strangers to constantly moving to find new jobs, new
opportunities, or to better ourselves in some way. So, I returned to the place where I was born with my mother and my brothers. When I had finally recovered, COVID-19 emerged into the world, and so I could no longer leave where I was. For the first time in a long time, we were staying put. Unfortunately, I had to miss that year of school and repeat the first grade of the technical career that I had started. COVID-19 put my little world on pause, ourtown, and the rest of the world as well. The following year when restrictions
lifted and people began to grow into the new normal of a post-pandemic
world, everything went wonderfully and I managed to finish that year of the
technical school and start the second year where I did very well. I had a very
good grade average and managed to finish school. That had been my best
year without a doubt until...

Almost at the beginning of the third and last year of my degree, I made a
decision that was not so good but it was not so bad either. It took a few days,
and I thought it through, the pros and cons of staying in a country where I
could follow in the footsteps of others, or walk my own path. Like so many others before me, I made the decision to embark on a brand new path, an-
other change, another move, and search for the much acclaimed “AMERI-
CAN DREAM”.

© Abner . All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.