Another Humble Generation
It's the first day of summer break, I open my eyes and look outside the car's
window. It’s still pitch-black. I glance towards my coworkers who still nap. The boss
man begins to yell, " Vamos gente ya es hora del jale"; Let’s go people, it’s work time! As
we hop out the rusty old van, I see my breathe indicating the freezing temperature.
From afar, motors begin to roar, the distinct smell of musty gasoline hits me instantly
like the left hook of a world champion boxer. Finally, I reach la maquina (the machine
used while working in the lettuce harvest) and see a gross number of boxes denoting the
long work day ahead of us. I stop and ponder; will this be my daily routine for the next
40+ years?
My family is unique, my mother was a single parent who had the difficulty of
raising two additional children after raising two adults in the home. My sister and I were
unexpected babies; I arrived 19 years after my second eldest brother. Due to life
circumstances, my parents never got the opportunity to receive a formal education.
Thus, my mother was a hardworking, migrant worker who worked in the lettuce fields in
hopes of providing a better future for her children. Although I am the youngest out of
my four siblings, I was not necessarily pampered or babied as the youngest do in most
families. I have been working in the summers since I was young to help out. My mother
was a migrant worker until her health inhibited her from working and she was classified
disabled. After this, my mom, sister and I established ourselves in a small, rural
agriculture community in Southern Colorado. Growing up my mother was not in the
picture much because of work reasons. I recall spending a few holidays with random
people because my mom could not make it back to us on time. I spent multiple
Christmas with my sister alone in our apartment. Although my mother was not in the
picture much, she was still my everything. Eventually, my mother put away her fight and
passed away my junior year of high school.
Maintaining my mother’s legacy alive is one of my life goals. My mother’s legacy
is not one revolving around possessions and wealth, but rather one of humbleness,
helpfulness, and resiliency. Helping others is something I love to do. I recently attended
a pre-collegiate program in Boulder, Colorado, where for two weeks, I was given the
chance to experience the life of a college student. I came into the program shy and
without much confidence in my academic skills to complete the program. At the
beginning of the program I did not believe I was intelligent enough, yet as the program
came to an end I realized I was capable and skillful to complete it successfully. I believe
this experience gave me a chance to discover and develop my inner leadership qualities.
Since I returned to my home community, I have had the opportunity to engage in many
activities in where I have been able to serve. One of them has been the opportunity to
tutor and mentor a middle school student through a peer connector program. The
program paired me with a student who has learning disabilities and troubles staying on
task. Additionally, I was chosen as a student representative to speak for my town’s Rural
Philanthropy Day. Finally, I have also been involved with a restoration project by
painting my community’s and school’s park bleachers.
My life goal is to keep my mother’s legacy alive and I truly believe my life purpose
is to influence and impact those in and around my communities in a positive manner. I
want to serve as a model as someone who was not discouraged by their struggles, but
rather empowered by every new skill learned after solving a problem. I plan on fulfilling
my life purpose through my career. My mother’s hard work and experiences have
allowed me to believe in the possibility of a post-secondary education. After graduating
high school, I plan to study criminal justice and become a police officer.
Through my career, I want to be able to help kids, especially those who share a
similar background to mine, by helping them avoid drugs and gang activities and by
overall keeping them safe. I want to be a police officer who has the power to influence
those around him in a positive way. I will no longer be pushed to work in the fields
because it’s my only way of making an income. Thanks to an education I will be able to
carry-out my life purpose in blue suit and not in pitch-black conditions. Finally, I want
to be the positive role model my community often lacks. I want to show the kids in my
neighborhood that regardless of life’s struggles, we can all better ourselves and serve
others creating a better community for all.
