My parents are my biggest supporters in anything I do and they’re also the strongest people I know.This is the story of how they taught me that I can be anyone I want, but nothing would be handed to me in life, I would have to fight for it.
The year was 1991, and my parents had just gotten married. They were that couple that everyone knew would marry eventually and although it felt as if their fairy tale was complete, they still had a dream for themselves and their family. They wanted something more, they wanted to live in a place where there was opportunity to better themselves. When they looked around at their own home they couldn’t imagine there children growing up elsewhere. Mexico was the place they called home. They always dreamt that their children would walk on the same ground they did. But when they looked closer, they saw little success for their children in the future.
Unfortunately, laws had to be broken to allow this dream to come true. So they took a 3 hour plane ride from their hometown Morelia to Tijuana. My mother was joyful because she was with her husband but she was also unaware of what was in store for her. In Tijuana, her brother got her in contact with “el coyote” which is what they call the person that helps people cross the border illegally. He instructed them to wear black clothing and to meet them at a gasoline station at 8PM. El Coyote guided them for 3 hours walking through mountains and trees. My mother describes it as fast, quiet, and dark with only the light of the moon. They ended up climbing a steep mountain. Below the mountain was a highway that would let them into California, but they had to wait until 5 am when the security guards would switch turns in order for them to be able to cross without getting caught. They slept on that mountain until 5 am. My mother says that it was the coldest night she ever spent but it helped having the love of her life by her side. When El Coyote saw that the immigration officer was gone he said “it's time to run” and so they ran down the steep mountain across the highway and into a forest. They ran for 2 hours as they were running they passed rich peoples homes where there big dogs would try to bite them. My mom felt as if she was flying because both my father and El Coyote were holding her hand while running because she was too slow. While crossing they had to constantly hide under bridges, above buildings to avoid drawing attention and avoid running into immigration officers. They walked until they got to a gas station in San Diego where my mom's brothers were waiting for them. It was the 13th of August that day.
24 Years ago my parents immigrated from Mexico and I couldn't be more proud. Yes, my parents broke the law, but they did for me and my family's future. People use to tell my parents “you're not going to make it in United States”, “you're going to get caught”, “why are you leaving”, “you don't even speak the language”. But my parents unlimited imagination allowed them to reach the unthinkable. Although my parents were illegal for 23 years they never allowed that to interfere with their goals. Today my parents are proud successful businesses owners. We are not here to take people's jobs we are here to create jobs. My parents success story is one of the reasons why I never tell myself I can't because I can. Sometime you just need to stop being selfish and take this life that was given to you by the unknown and rock the hell out of it. I consider myself the luckiest girl in the world because the unknown has blessed me with 2 hard working parents that have given me everything in the world. Millions of hispanics try to do what my parents did and most don't make it or are left to die. I am extremely lucky that my parents made it. I don't know what the future has in store for us but what I can say is I'm a proud Hispanic Woman and nothing will limit me, not even an insignificant wall.
