I am from a place where most people earn just $20 per month. There are shortages of everything: rice, cooking oil, eggs, soap. People spend hours in line to buy basic supplies. Sometimes they don’t even know where the line leads, but they wait anyway. It’s the Cuban version of FOMO, fear of missing out. I am from Cuba and my journey from that beleaguered island nation to the United States of America is a fundamental part of who I am. It’s a journey I could not have made without the support of friends and family, especially my mother, Elizabeth Crespo. My mom reached the U.S. on Jan. 21, 2015. She traveled alone. Immigration regulations prevented her from bringing me. We knew we would be separated, but expected it to last only 18 months. Everything changed after Donald Trump was elected. New immigration laws complicated everything. I wasn’t reunited with my mom until 2019. We had spent 1,626 days apart. I arrived on July 4, 2019 - Independence Day. I was free, too, finally free from Cuba’s economic turmoil. I am grateful to be in the U.S. and am eager to make something of myself. I was born just east of Havana in Alamar, a jumble of Soviet-style apartments built for workers in the 1960s. My mom sacrificed everything for me. She was single and worked 12-hour days while I was at school. My grandparents, Edith and Edward, along with my aunts, Maira and Mariela, helped take care of me. Meat was usually scarce, but Grandma made it last. My favorite meal was chicken, cooked slowly with garlic, onions and peppers. But my mom tells me I was never a picky eater as a kid. Mom was single and pregnant with me while studying for her accounting degree. She graduated and went to work, but included me whenever she could. I went with her when she did volunteer work in the neighborhood. We also took trips together, sometimes going camping in the countryside. Mom tells me I could always sleep anywhere. Mom started sending me to an after-school tutor when I was in 1st grade. The tutor took students from different grades. One day, the tutor asked a 4th grader, “What’s four times five?” The student didn’t know. “20,” I blurted out. Everyone was surprised that I had learned my multiplication tables. I love math. Even while separated from Mom, I went to a tutor after school to learn more about math, English and other subjects. My dream is to become an engineer. I don’t want my family’s sacrifice to have been for nothing. For Cubans, friends and family are everything. They help each other in good times and bad. They come together for birthdays and holidays. On Dec. 31, they roast a pig – often going into debt to pay for it –to say goodbye to the old year. Of course, I miss my friends from Alamar, especially Jordi. We have known each other since kindergarten and are like brothers. I am thankful we can stay in touch. I miss my cousin, Sandra. We grew up together. I also miss Grandma. She was my best friend. We could talk about anything. She passed away in 2018. But she and others instilled in me important values: Kindness, compassion, tolerance, honesty and respect for others. Those values made me strong. They helped me overcome the challenges of the arduous journey from Cuba to the U.S. That journey is also evidence of my ability to adapt and to overcome adversity, which I believe will make me successful in college and beyond.

I am from Cuba and my journey from that beleaguered island nation to the United States of America is a fundamental part of who I am. It’s a journey I could not have made without the support of friends and family, especially my mother, Elizabeth Crespo. My mom reached the U.S. on Jan. 21, 2015. She traveled alone. Immigration regulations prevented her from bringing me. I wasn’t reunited with my mom until 2019. We had spent 1,626 days apart. I arrived on July 4, 2019 - Independence Day. I was finally free from Cuba’s economic turmoil. My mom sacrificed everything for me. She was single and worked 12-hour days while I was at school. My grandparents, along with my aunts, helped take care of me. Mom was single and pregnant with me while studying for her accounting degree. She graduated and went to work, but included me whenever she could. I went with her when she did volunteer work in the neighborhood. Mom started sending me to an after-school tutor when I was in 1st grade. The tutor took students from different grades. One day, the tutor asked a 4th grader, “What’s four times five?” The student didn’t know. “20,” I blurted out. Everyone was surprised that I had learned my multiplication tables. I love math. Even while separated from Mom, I went to a tutor after school to learn more about math, English and other subjects. My dream is to become an engineer. I don’t want my family’s sacrifice to have been for nothing. Those values made me strong. They helped me overcome the challenges of the arduous journey from Cuba to the U.S. That journey is also evidence of my ability to adapt and to overcome adversity, which I believe will make me successful in college and beyond.