A father's two hands, in my opinion, are some of the strongest things on the planet. They are some of the fundamental tools to shaping a human being. They are a reflection of the life a person has lived and foreshadow the life of those they shape. If you looked at my father’s hands alone, you would clearly see that my father’s life has been a hard one. My fathers hands are large and scarred, and beat up and worn out, and always displaying the newest cuts of the week.

Born in Mexico, into a family of 8, my father is the epitome of hardworking. Taken out of school at the age of 10 to help his family tend to their farm, my fathers manual labor career started early. He came to the states when he was 17 to find a better life and provide even more for his family back home. With a life that was far from an easy one, my father has become one of the most complex humans I’ve ever known.

My father has never ceased to surprise me, his intelligence goes far beyond any degree could give him, and his wisdom makes him seem like he’s lived a thousand lives.

He is my biggest rival and my silent supporter. We fight constantly over the way my life should be led or certain traditional views we don’t agree on, or literally anything we don’t agree on, but no matter how taxing our relationship may be I have looked up to the man that I call Dad. While our arguments occur often and end in periods of silence after, he has always been the one I look up to the most. His stubbornness cannot be matched and his presence instills fear, but the good kind. Our relationship is complicated but isn’t all father/daughter relationships?

While my father may be one of the most intimidating humans on the planet he is also one of the most generous. Over the years, I’ve never seen someone work so hard for what they get and give it away to those in need so easily. His vulnerable side is the hardest to find and most rewarding to discover. Our conversations are always the ones I take the most from, the ones I listen to the most and the ones I appreciate the most.

The life my father has led is incredible, the book describing his life would be long and full of adventure with parts that will make you cry, parts that will make you laugh, and parts that will leave you in awe. I’ve spent my life listening to this story and watching it as it is being written and I can guarantee it would be a best seller.

My fathers hands have shaped me into who I am today, they have shown me the necessity of hard work and the rewards of generosity. And in all my life, I have never found a person who has gained so much respect from the world around him, not because he demanded it, but because he has earned it.

I am my father’s daughter and I will always be proud to be supported by those hands, those hands that have seen massive hardships and have seen tremendous success.