My parents came to the U.S. in 2001, the year I was born. I was the first and only to be born in the United States. My parents are originally from Peru, a relatively poor country. My dad took the initiative to leave Peru and come to the United States for a better future for us (my brothers and sister).

My parents came and lived with my uncle who had immigrated about 5 years earlier. My uncle was very helpful and offered my parents many opportunities. As time went by my parents got jobs and finally bought a house. My eldest brother was 15 at the time, my sister was 14, and my other brother was 2 years old. Desperately needing a source of income both my mom and dad would work, so my eldest brother and sister basically raised me and my other brother.

My brother and sister went to Northeast high school, they hated it. They were teenagers in a new country, knew zero english, and knew nobody but each other. They tell me now that there were days they would skip classes because they would rather be anywhere else than that school. My brother expresses his hatred for high school more than my sister. He says because he knew no English he would be embarrassed to talk because of the reaction he would get from teachers and students. People would laugh, mock, and even lie to them when asking for help.

Eventually, they found other hispanic students to make friends with. They formed a small group that would be around each other all day. My sister says high school wasn’t that bad after she found some friends, but my brother still hated it because of the mindset he has. He felt dumb because he was at a disadvantage. He hated the fact that he was in an ESOL class and at times he wanted to give up.

Luckily neither of them did because they are now both in their 30’s and completed college and have very successful lives. They both speak fluent English and even live in different states. My brother lives in California and my sister lives in Houston. Me and my other brother are here at Temple and we hope to do even better because we are at an advantage compared to them. My parents, brother, and sister are what inspire me to reach for the stars because of them I can believe anything is possible.