“Always forward and forward, always”. This is a quote derived from one of my favorite, and recently watched shows: Marvel’s Luke Cage. This quote for me was an integral part of my reflection of life, my life in particular and it and it was a quote that was relatable on so many levels. Relatable because all my life I have resided in the lower class, where bills are implemented and sometimes you must push through despite limitations on funds. Relatable because I am latino and I have barriers and parameters set for me since birth, parameters which I must demolish in order to continue forward. Relatable, finally, because despite tragedy and hardship, when I have been brought to my knees with the gravity of so many outside forces pulling me down, I have mustered the strength to create an equilibrium, and move-forward.

Fortune is a privilege only some get and if it were measured by a statistic, say 2 in 7 families are fortunate, we’d be a part of the other 5. My family, which consisted of a rather hardworking mother and 6 kids (including me, the youngest), has always gotten by with the bare minimum. In my younger years we had to make heavy use of food stamps and ration our funds or income efficiently. This meant ,throughout the years, no luxury items such as the bike or action figures that we wanted, or even going out to have fun as a family. This also meant that we would be pitied by our other family members whether it’d be from my mother’s side or my other parent’s side.  I would always see other relatives like cousins getting so many of the “good presents”while we got clothing and items that “may seem of use”. This sort of impression, to me became more of a “will seem of use because you can’t really afford it”. My family has been split apart because of this but it hasn’t stopped us from maintaining our current financial status.  

It is said that a latino, especially one that is working while studying in high school, is set for either failure or community college due to the fact that it is virtually too much for a person. I say otherwise, yes there are some who cave in because of pressure and stress, but it must be considered that people handle things differently not by skin or ethnicity, but by mind. Stereotypes have thrown themselves into my growing brain ever since I started Kinder, without the moral support of siblings I would have probably went with the stream of society. I have followed their steps of being a hardworking, well-rounded, intellectual.  Through balancing work, studies, sports, finances, obstacles, a relatively good social life, and many more responsibilities I have learned independence and the kind of mindset and dedication it takes to be extraordinary, and not by ethnicity but sheer mentality.

 

Psychologists say that adolescents go through enormous quantities of stress. My life consists of magnetic stressors, that attach to the floor, always pulling me down. Starting off highschool with one parent deceased, and another enclosed in her religious beliefs, as well as five siblings focused on only their accomplishments, didn’t help. There were expectations of independence: selling chips at school as a form of income to satisfy the needs unreachable by family. Maintaining above 3.6 GPA, and building on my resume at the same time. The stress of not being recognized as the hardest working of the bunch causing anger and frustration. Having a traumatic head injury affect my work habits and schedule with aches and sadness. All this hardship has made me realize: what’s at stake is my success in life, and whether it may seem like a very unfair or ruthless life at times, I must push through every obstacle.