As a child, I watched my parents deal with the adversity the world brought them. My parents immigrated from Mexico to the United States seeking a better future for their five children. Only speaking their native language, I was often the translator at doctor appointments and the filling of legal documents. My parents faced numerous hardships with obtaining employment. Due to my parents not graduating from high school, my father is a dairy worker and my mother is a homemaker.
My father’s job is extremely physically demanding, enough to have him get his leg fractured this past year. My father was unable to properly recover because of the economic strain on our family. He continued to go to work because he was the only source of income for a family of seven. My parent’s frugality affected us all, we were unable to do simple things like go on vacations, eat out at a restaurant, or even travel. It also made school difficult due to the insufficient amount of school supplies I had.
Even though I grew up lacking many opportunities, I still managed to do my best academically in order to achieve my future goals. I believe the work I have put into my academic studies shows the outcome of my hard work throughout my four years in high school. The hard work I put into my academic excellence so far has encouraged me to be the person who can advocate for themselves and the one who can help others to create change in our community.
While in high school, I decided to take rigorous courses in order to challenge myself academically. It resulted in being in honors and Advanced Placement English courses. Though English was not my first language, I still managed to learn and over achieve in the language. Aside from my academic achievements in high school, I was able to get involved with my community by being part of extracurricular activities and giving back through community service.
I joined the clubs Friday Night Live (FNL), California Scholarship Federation (CSF), Kerman Youth Commission, and Youth Leadership Institute (YLI). They all contribute to the opportunities that were opened to me which allowed me to participate and help my community. They helped me gain experience in certain situations and develop leadership and communication skills.
A few of those experiences were passing a smoke-free park law in the city of Kerman, park clean-ups, community holiday events, and several campaigns against underage drinking. As I participated in these extracurricular activities, I was able to take upon a few leadership roles in clubs like the treasurer, Vice President, and public speaker. Due to this, I had become a community activist. The person who can advocate and give a voice to those who are unable to.
I believe if given this financial opportunity it will bring me closer to my future goals. One of them being to use my voice and actions to improve the business world by satisfying the demand of consumers, but not at the cost of workers. Low wages and unsafe working conditions have debilitating effects on not only the workers but their families and the United States as well. My parents worked hard every single day of their lives and still did not have enough to maintain an economically stable household.
They were seeking a better future for their children and after living in Kerman for years, I have noticed that the same problems my parents faced is common in other households in the Central Valley. Taking advantage of the opportunity to go to college not only satisfies my goals but also my parent’s hard work. Seeing the adversity my parents faced taught me to work hard, stand up to injustice and empower those who are silenced to have a voice.
~~Esmeralda Hernandez