Memories Of My Life : Memories

Being raised in a developing country taught me to appreciate everything I had pretty early on. Underprivileged was never a word that crossed my mind. I lived modestly in a decent sized home with four vehicles, all the toys my heart desired, and a big close-knit family. Unfortunately, all around me I witnessed the harsh realities of what life could be. Homeless people scattered the streets everywhere around me. Traffic laws weren't obeyed, it was as if no laws existed because the majority didn’t appear to follow them. there was no structure. There aren't as many rules in third world countries, at least not enforced, but they're one of the most conservative places I know. Yet I never realized that our way of living wasn't exactly commonplace until

First, my mother, Reina, (the fourth child out of six) was born into poverty in Ajuterique, Comayagua- Honduras. She was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of three from eating contaminated pork. However, as a young child, about the age of 6, she was forced to work in order to help her mother support the business and family affairs, thus education and work came hand in hand, and both things had to get done every day with no excuses. She would have to go door to door and sell merchandise consisting of meat, tamales, chicharones, milk products such as: cheese, sour cream, etc. and much more. Moreover, her days would begin at 3 AM to help in the house, get ready for school, and then go to work. My mother would not come home until she sold mostly all of her items making her days long and tiring. Due to the way of life and customs she lived in Honduras, she decided on taking a different course in her life when the opportunity became available. She wanted to prosper, have more, and become a better person.

When presented with this assignment, I didn’t know anyone over the age of 70 local to my area, so I asked a classmate if I could interview her grandmother. Her grandmother, BD, graciously agreed to do the interview.

When I was six years old, I lived in Greenwood, Florida. I moved there the summer after I was done with kindergarten. Greenwood is a very small town, the population is only six hundred and eighty-six. It is a very flat land with a lot of very tall trees. The trees would twist and turn and intertwined with each other. There were also a lot of palm trees. I lived in a house not only with my mom, my dad, my little brother and sister, but also seven other people, four dogs and two mice. The very first day I got there I was just playing with the dogs. I eventually ran outside into the backyard without telling anyone. I was wearing flip flops and I didn't think that there would be anything different here than from Iowa. When I was running around

Growing up in a small country and not being able to get what you want is a little bit harder. I grew up where my parent had to stay up all night to just make sure that we are safe. Kakuma is the city that I was born in which is in refugee camp. My parent had hard time moving from Ethiopia to kakuma refugee camp because there was a fight going on in Ethiopia, so they didn’t have a choice but to get out of there in order for us to be safe. When they got to kakuma refugee camp they had hard time getting a job and that’s when life get a little bit harder because my parent couldn’t afford buying enough food and paying for our education. Going through tough times like that with my parent is what made me too strong like I am today and in the future.

Some of the best moments of my childhood include memories from my abuelita’s pueblo in Mexico. It was a small pueblo, and I normally went with my abuela during Christmas time. I remember all the lights, going to church to pray the rosary every night, and the Christmas celebration that happened every year. However, in addition to the good moments in Mexico, there were also bad moments. At this age however, I was too young to understand how corrupt Mexico was, and what was happening in the area I was in. I was too young to understand why people would want to leave a place that seemed so wonderful in my young, naïve eyes.

My mother, father, siblings, and I had been living in a poor part of town in Guadalajara, Mexico. My father worked as a ranchero and my mother used to waitress at a local pub and restaurant. I was the oldest of all my siblings and therefore, the leader. I had to set an example for the younger ones and had to take care of them from the dangers of the world. One day, I was at home when I found out my father had been killed. It was a tragic day and my mother, devastated from the loss, wanted to move to America, speaking of being safer there and how America could help us all. We moved the following week, wanting to leave Guadalajara and the crime of the small town. We were missed and there was no one else to care after the ranch since my father died, so they closed it down, but it was necessary. We no longer wanted to live in such a dangerous place, so when we moved to America, we found out we had taken up all of the small apartment complex. After we moved in, there was no more room, so I guess we were lucky. My siblings and I went to school and had good grades, my mother working as a waitress, yet again. I grew up to be a police officer, wanting to be able to prevent crimes in my city, New York, like to what happened to my father. I thank American for the opportunities that it has given me and will be forever grateful. This is a story about a boy that struggled loss, poverty and depression. A large problem Mexicans usually faced was housing because is the US housing is more expensive. They also had problems with money because they had to find jobs and find a place to stay. Sometimes a Mexican would become a citizen and live mostly in Texas, California, Montana, and New Mexico which also house 57% of legal immigrants throughout the nation. Tomas Jimenez, sociology, professor at Stanford University “rejects two contrasting propositions that Mexican Americans experience assimilation like European immigrants

My journey takes me back to my childhood days in Mexico, I had very little in life due to my family’s financial troubles, and the vast majority of my childhood was consequently ruined. Numerous times I would think to myself that I would never be able to accomplish any of my dreams or even make a life for myself. It isn’t until the end of my High school education that I had made the decision to move in with my Sister to the

Growing up as a child the youngest of five siblings raised by a single mother from the south side of Chicago, Illinois I experienced many obstacles that I had to overcome daily as a child at a very early age. Chicago has one of the highest murder rates in the United States. The environment I grew up in was very detrimental filled with drugs and violence on every corner. My neighbors were drug dealers and drug addicts who were constantly fighting all the time. My mother worked two jobs full time seven days a week to maintain the household and financial responsibilities. At times I would sell chips, candy and juice in front of stores to make money so that I could help my mother pay the bills and I’d often have to take care of my sick grandmother

Being an only child from a middle class family, I grew up a very sheltered life. My biggest worry under the age of 12 consisted of getting my homework done in time to play outside before the street lights came on. My favorite childhood memories all revolve around my grandparent’s beach house where I would spend my summer’s with my family and friends. I was naïve to the fact that every other child in the world didn’t think of their family and friends as their biggest support system. I was naïve to the fact that every other child in the world didn’t experience the sense of happiness in life as I did.

Since the population in Mexico is growing rapidly each day , it is difficult for families to get out of poverty . Falling below poverty , there's also unemployment . When growing up since I lived under poor conditions , my parents did not have enough money to pay for school so unfortunately I was not able to finish school . Since I didn’t finish my education , I wasn't able to get a job . Which led me to be a farmer . The last main reason i came to the U.S. was of my fear against war and violence . Where i'm from is the 4th most dangerous city in the world . Growing up of course i got used to it but i still had the fear to face death. I would always hear people talk about the U.S . So Instead of having to keep suffering I decided to leave

Growing up my family lived in poverty, we didn’t get everything we wanted and sometimes we didn’t even get everything we needed. Some nights we would go to bed hungry because we wouldn’t be able to afford food that night. It was fun finding stuff to do because we couldn’t afford to get any electronics or cable. Not growing up with electronics made it so we lived in the present and enjoyed each other's company more, instead of being distracted by screens. Sometimes I wouldn’t see my dad for days or even a week, because he was working three jobs just to provide for us. Living the way I did as a child gave me a high emotional stability because i’ve been through things and came out stronger where a lot of other people would have broke. these hardships not only prepared me for life as I grow up, but also gave me a more humbling point of view on things.

The story of my thirteen-year-old-self offered readers a glimpse of the lowest point of my life; However, it was not the only time I felt discouragement. In Fall 2014, my mother ended up losing her job due to disability. We had to move into a dangerous neighborhood. All our lives, my mother worked hard to prevent us from residing in neighborhoods that could potentially harm us. I can recall the face she wore when she realized moving to a lower-class area was the only solution to our problems. She did not say it, but I can tell that she felt like she failed us. I patted her back the entire ride to our new home for reassurance. When we reached our destination, my stomach tied up in knots. There were dozens of people around the neighborhood

Im from a small town called Salinas, where its known for its agricultre. Salinas is surrounded by fields, we grow a lot of vegtables, we have the perfect weather for these crops. We ship a lot of vegtables all across the world, perfect agriculture. I wish i could say good things about my community as well, but my surroundings arnt as good as our agriculture, in my community i see a lot of poverty, gang violence, illegal activitys, growing up in a community like this for ten years has been a challenge not to get involved in all that, and im lucky i havnt. Ive lost a lot of loved ones out in my community but i manage to keep moving forward and do it big for them, i keep moving forward with my education because i see how a lot of people in my

My family never had the opportunity to have luxurious goods; we started out at the bottom of the food chain. They never even had the opportunity to take their education higher than middle school. From the beginning, as soon as we they were old enough, they would head out to a small ranch in the valley and work. Mexico is a cruel place, especially when your family is barely making enough money to survive the week. All of my family originated from Mexico, and all of us know what it’s like to be living in the shadows of society. Back in Mexico, my future was engraved in stone, that is until my family ditched their way of living so I wouldn't go through the same struggle. Little did they know that I would still face many struggles. The journey