Living in Florida, it is easy to find people with stories of how they came to the United States of America empty handed and worked their way up by getting an education. I, like many of those people, migrated to this Country with those same empty hands, but my story is different. When I arrived to the USA, I was devastated. I was ten years old when my mother snatched me from the life I had in my own country, Spain. I was forced to leave everything that mattered to me; my family, my friends, Zar, my dog. Consequently, when I arrived here, I was not about to evolve as a person or let go of my little mindedness anytime soon. I spent most of my time cutting class, abusing the use of alcohol, and blaming everyone for my failures. Instead of moving foward, I was walking backwards.
Because I was cutting class so much, my mother became disappointed. She expected me to take advantage of the chance she did not get when she was a young lady. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jimenez, did not give her the opportunity to go to school because they were very poor. Her biggest dream was that I could go to college so that I may have a better life style; but I did not see it that way at that moment. I was blind by sadness.
As I grew up and became a teenager, instead of grabbing books, I was grabbing bad habits. Looking for myself, I started abusing the use of alcohol. One glass of vodka turned into two, and two turned into three until I lost myself in the dark world of alcohol and drugs. The last thing in my mind was school. Little did I know of the surprise that the future had for me.
Meanwhile, I became a bitter person. I was lost; I did not know who I was anymore or why I was placed in this earth. I was bored of life and blamed everyone for my mistakes. Until one hot sunny afternoon, I decided to go to the beach and let the powerful sound of the waves take my stress away to the bottom of the ocean. I laid down on the sand and as the rays of the sun forced my eyes to be closed, it suddenly hit me; the light bull in my head turned on. "If there is something that can take me out of this misery is knowledge," I thought to myself.
I walked home that day pleased of my discovery. The next day, I registered in Miami Dade Community College. Three years have passed since then, and I'm a different person now. I was right; knowledge was my salvation! As I let go of my little mindedness, I realize that the world is a beautiful and extremely interesting place. There are so many things to learn and so little time to waste, that my only regret is not to have registered sooner.
Author: Nerea Duran
love it! little alchie :)
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