My Father Is Caring For Others

My life has always had an abundance of caring people. My mother has always been a caring woman– caring for my sisters and me. My father, too, always a caring man–caring for mother, and my sisters and me, and always wanting to do good things for others. As a curious child, I saw these things and wondered why my parents were always so caring for others. I then realized it was part of our culture and family tradition–to be compassionate and caring for others. In a way, you can say we were encouraged to be kind to others and to each other. “Con virtud y bondad, se adquiere la admistad.” mother would say–with virtue and kindness, friendship is acquired. I didn’t quite understand what she was saying, not when I was a child. But then, I did, and it would define a significant part of my life and the career choice I would ultimately take–Occupational Therapy. I was born in October of 1987 not long after my family had emigrated from Mexico. Like most immigrants, we were poor. Father worked on the fields and mother worked on factories sowing clothes. I went to school, and at the time there were so

Some were due to lack of judgment and others because of trial and error. I spent a good deal of my early twenties trying to understand more about myself as a person, as a Latina, as a member of my community– as a woman. “Con virtue y bondad,” – with virtue and kindness. I remembered mother’s words and they resonated loudly, guiding me, counseling me, and encouraging me through tough times. On December 2012 I became the first person in my family to graduate college, the cheers of my mother and father and sisters echoed those words of wisdom. I earned my AA in Social and Behavior Sciences and I finally began to feel empowered as a woman. I pushed ahead with confidence and motivation, successfully transferring to California State University–Northridge (CSUN) on the spring of 2013. From this time forward life took on a new complexion for