As my husband and I recently celebrated our one year in our home, I realized what a long way I've come and how blessed I am to live in one of the most beautiful towns of Illinois.
The fact of the matter is that I am thankful for my mom and dad because I know I am where I am because of them. Ever since my parents came to live in the United States, we didn't always have it easy but my parents always tried to create a safe environment with the little money they had. Like any Mexican family trying to achieve the American dream, we had to start from the bottom, the bottom of bottoms. We lived in basements and in the worst neighborhoods one can ever imagine but my dad fixed up those basements and mom cleaned those apartments so we would have a safe place to be.
I remember many times when we lived at Little Village, in the middle of the night, gang members would start fights. I never realized the danger of it bc I was only 7. One night I woke up to walk to my parents room, and I found them crouched underneath the window sill. They pulled me down so that if a stray bullet or broken glass came flying through it would not kill me. One day, in that very same apartment, in the middle of daylight, we heard a gun shot and a scream. This is all a blur to me now, because I think I subconsciously tried to forget this, but i peeked through the curtain, and I saw across the corner a guy lie lifelessly on the front steps. I think weeks later we moved. That's also around the time when I started to grow up and realize the dangers around us. My dad and my mom have always worked hard to keep us moving up, to keep us safe, to give us what they didn't have and more.
So as you can see, I was not brought up all my life in picket fences, ponies, and rainbows. I was brought up with examples of hard work and I know the value of money. I know that what I have is practically gold but the people around me are diamonds. Forever shining bright to keep me in the right path.
I'm forever blessed for having amazing examples of love and hardworking parents and hardworking husband. Especially him for giving me the castle I live in.
