Notes

During April of this year, I received an unexpected call from my Dad, who called to announce his permanent departure to Mexico because of a recent broken hip injury, he found leaving as the best solution. His words “me vine” rang in my head continuously.
His trouble was knowing that the price of his surgery was high, and we could not achieve that amount. He was leaving his family without money and a plan for the future. As a girl who always had a “complete” family, I found myself unable to process words and emotions at the time. I understood his motive for leaving, yet I lost myself in a mix of anxiety, sadness, and fear. I was so focused on the negativity that it left me. Knowing that my mother was going to be the head of the household and carrying all the financial burden for our new family of four, I needed to change.
My father’s absence was not going to define my future or the person I was to become. Only I hold that invaluable power. Independence, courage, and strength were waiting for me to explore. I became a better version of myself. I let go of all the negative thoughts inside me and it began with job application after job application. At sixteen, I got my first part time job. I went from a sixteen year old who had always depended on her parents for money to an independent working teenageer who earned a promotion to be a manager. I also passed my driver's test on the first try and I have achieved a 4.0 GPA. My strengths had overridden my weaknesses. I learned to pull the positives out of my struggles and construct opportunities for myself. I learned that light does not go away because of a dark shadow. I will not fear the unknown, but I will take it as it comes. I will be so much more than my father could dream of, even though he is far away, he and my family are proud of my new and big accomplishments.