Ever since I was born my dad has always been there for me and loved me, even in the hardest times. Growing up he provided me with everything I needed and showed me endless love. He has inspired me in so many ways and always cares for me and my younger brother Daniel.

Family was always super important to me. One of my biggest fears was for my family to separate and for us not to live together. So, when it actually happened, I was extremely devastated and didn't know how to react. My mom, brother and I had moved out. It was really hard on me because living without my dad was very scary and I didn't exactly know how it would be. When I was living with my mom it was extremely stressful because my mom wouldn't really take care of my brother and I would have to take care of him. Even though I lived with my mom, my dad would still walk an hour or two just to come see us for a little bit. That showed his commitment to us. Unlike my mom, who didn't really seem to care much for us. Every time he didn't work, he would try to come see us, even if it was raining. Eventually, he moved houses and asked if we wanted to move in with him. I wasn't so sure about moving in because I had to lose lots of things that I enjoyed but I knew I had to be willing to give those things up.

Moving in with my dad was a really big change because I never lived without my mom. However, even when I lived in her house, I didn't really feel like I lived with her because she was rarely there. It wasn't actually that difficult. When I moved in with my dad, I had to let lots of things go. One of the biggest things was moving schools and losing my friends at my old school. At this new school there would be new people that I didn't know. Unlike my old school where I knew lots of people. Some of them I had gone to school with since the 4th grade so moving schools was a very big change for me. Eventually, I adjusted to my new school and to living with my dad.

Living with my dad has made me realize why he is such an inspiration to me. A couple of months after I moved in with him his mom got really sick. Since he was living here in Arizona and his mom was in Mexico, there was not much he could do except send money for medical bills. He worked extremely hard and whenever he had the chance, he would send money to her. In spite of the fact that he was stressing so much over the situation, he tried not to show it so that we wouldn't worry about her or worry about him. The more his mom’s health declined, the more stressed he would get. Sadly, in August of 2022 she passed away and that deeply affected my dad. Even though he was really sad and missed his mom he was still very strong for us. My grandma’s passing also greatly affected me and my brother due to the fact that we never got the chance to actually meet and get to know her. My dad knew that so he did everything he could to make me and my brother happy even though he was deeply affected by his mom passing away.

My dad has always made sure we had everything and he works hard every day, sometimes even on the weekends. He does all that just to make sure we have what we need. I appreciate and love him deeply. He's such an amazing person and a huge inspiration to me.

© Nataly. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.