Final Draft

Back when I was a young boy, my life was complete. In my eyes, I had everything I needed; my mother, food, and soccer. However, in my mother’s eyes we needed more than that in order to survive. I was born in Argentina and raised by a single mother who did anything she had to in order to achieve my happiness. She was young, caring, and beautiful and gave birth to me at the age of 18. One of the biggest and most dramatic changes of my life was when my mother decided to leave Argentina where my family and friends were, and move to America where we only knew two people. I was only six years old so I wasn’t sure what we were getting ourselves into. I didn’t know how big of a risk we were taking. Although America was a country of opportunities those opportunities didn’t always arrive to everyone.
It was a cold afternoon in my Aunts residence where I was parting ways with my family. I couldn’t truly understand why my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were all crying. My aunt told my mom, “Why are you taking him away from us?” my mother replied, “I am willing to do whatever it takes for my son to have a successful future”. My mother would give me the world if she could. I knew that as long as I was with my mother I would be fine therefore I wasn’t as worried as my family was. My mother always told me, “If you work hard you can achieve anything in life”. This was a rather harsh statement for a six year old to understand at the time but with time I would manage to understand. Saying goodbye to my father was perhaps the hardest thing to do for me, at the time. Although we weren’t very close and he wasn’t there for me at most times it was still hard for me to leave my “father”. After arriving to the Airport, I didn’t know what to expect. All I knew was that I was moving into a new world and that all my family and friends were staying behind. My family on my mother’s side was very close but with so many financial issues this was the time to pursue success and achieve happiness.
When we arrived to the International Airport of Miami we had an old family friend Ernesto waiting for us. He and his family were the ones that gave us a hand when we first arrived. Everything was incredibly different and more fancy than what I was used too. The bills were a different color, the people were different, and most importantly the language was different. I didn’t know how I felt at the time. I didn’t know what to expect, or what I was supposed to do. My mother only told me that we were in America because it was to give me an opportunity to succeed as a person and to “achieve” happiness.
We moved in with Ernesto and his family until my mother found a job. I felt really uncomfortable because I always had my own room, now I had to share it with my mom. I didn’t feel like I was at home. I wanted to go back to Argentina. I didn’t like anything about America and that was only on my first day. I had just finished second grade in Argentina because school starts in March and it ends in December, but since in America it’s different I had to go back to second grade.
On my first day of school I cried and didn’t want my mother to leave my side. Not only did I miss my family and friends but I couldn’t understand a word anyone said. Everyone in the classroom saw me cry so I felt even more embarrassed to be there. I was finally convinced by the teacher to come inside and let my mother leave. After spending a couple of minutes in the classroom I started sobbing again. I just didn’t know why my mother would do this to me, why would she change my life and bring me to a place that I felt was like torture. Fortunately enough I went to a school in Miami were the society as a whole was very fluent in Spanish. My classmates were friendly and made the transition easier than expected.
After a couple of days my mother found a job. Not her dream job, but having a steady income was good enough. Ernesto then introduced me a special person that had a big impact in my life. His name was Juan Carlos and he was the coach to a youth league soccer team. I told him how skilled I was at the sport so he decided to give me a shot to be on his team. Since my mother couldn’t afford to have a car Juan Carlos had to pick me up and drop me off to the try-out. My first day of soccer was similar to my first day of school in America. Everyone spoke English; everyone was friends with each other. I truly felt like an outcast. However, we all shared the same passion for the same sport and that’s what ultimately got us along. I made the team but I told Juan Carlos that I wouldn’t be able to attend all of the practices and games because my mother didn’t have a car. Without any hesitation Juan Carlos said “I came from a family that also moved to America, I know what you guys are going trough and I am willing to help.” With a couple of tears in my eyes I hugged him and thanked him for the opportunity he was giving me. Juan Carlos was like an “Angel” sent from god.
After my mother started getting more hours at her job we could afford to move out and live on our own. We moved into a two bedroom apartment and for me it felt like I moved into a mansion. It was very cozy and it felt like a dream come true for me and my mother. However, living on our own applied to more expenses. These were probably the toughest years of my life. My mother was now working 72 hours a week and I barely saw her. I told my mother that I missed her and she replied “ I miss you and think of you all the time, and one day you will be able to understand why I am working so hard” I was only 7 years old and I walked to school and back, and I spent plenty of time home alone.
Throughout those tough years of my life I wondered if my mother had made the right choice because I felt so lonely and she was working almost twice the amount of time that a regular job took. However, after all the struggles we went through this big change was worth it. I understood the big sacrifices my mother did, and it was all worth it. I wouldn’t change anything my mother did for me. Moving to America was the biggest change in my life and it made me a stronger person. My mother is now married and has another child, and I became the first person in my family to attend a University in America by being a current student at the University of Central Florida.