Barreir Opportunity Scholarship

"Clang, Clang" I hear as the sun sets down and the moon appears. I see my sweat covered father slamming the hammer. It is late and he is still out there working non-stop? After all, we are Mexican Americans. This is who we are by nature. I grew up too fast. Hearing and knowing the struggles my father would face as a single parent trying to make ends meet was a struggle we all faced together. My father was a charro that had dedicated his whole life to training horses, that was what he loved. But the struggles started to come in, and had less time. He had to take care of three children on his own without knowing the struggles ahead. I was 8, my father braided my hair and styled me. I was 10, "You have to start learning english" my father said. I was 12, middle school here I come! Very insecure of my English, I felt like I did not belong, like I was out of place. I was made fun of, laughed at, for not having the right pronunciation. I was 13, my English got better! but oh? my older brother had a lump on his arm. "What's wrong?" I asked my dad as he cried. "It's nothing bad, your brother is just sick" That's when I realized. That was the moment I knew was going to change my life forever. Cancer; eating anything that was on its way. As the weeks passed my brother lost his hair; we shaved it. My dad would stay as much as he could in the hospital with my brother while we had to go to school. I was getting A's and my English was getting a better! So everything was okay, right dad...? Money was tight. How were we going to pay for his chemotherapy? My dad worked twice as hard just so that we could be happy and pay for my brother's medical bills. It wasn't enough. Friends supported us, helped us, helped raise awareness. I was 14, it was enough for my brother! He got better as the months went by but oh? COVID-19 was here. Anxiety, depression, unemployment, death? it was hitting us like a brick. Anxiety and depression consumed me, my father found it hard to find a job, and both my grandparents passed away. I was 15, freshman year here I come! My brother was discharged and free from cancer!! He did it!! Oh, inflation? I watched as my father struggled to make ends meet but he kept encouraging us to do better. After all, this was the country where dreams come true. I kept good grades, helped my dad and my brothers to get better in school. I was the middle child and the only girl, but I didn't mind it. After all, I was helping my brothers, and I myself found my passion for animals and children. I have faced struggles since I was a little girl. Not all myself, but I was impacted as my loved ones were. This is what being a Mexican American is like. Filled with the burden of having to do better for my family despite the bumpy roads ahead of me. Despite that, I was able to overcome it with my family by my side. I now want to chase the dream my dad couldn't have, my passion for animals. And the passion of helping children around me that are filled with the burden of diseases, sickness, and terminal illness. Like my father says "No dejes que tus miedos se apoderen de tus sueños".