“Melissa, levantate rapido” that translates to Melissa you have 5 seconds to get up, and be ready or you will feel the wrath of The Chancla (a weapon used from all Hispanic mother’s to demonstrate authority.) Ten seconds after shouting at the top of her lungs for me to get up, my mother begins her day as she always does, providing my father, younger siblings and I with a meal. Which usually consists of the crispy black goya beans and medium sized white eggs all wrapped in a soft warm corn tortilla,
I was thirteen when my mom was seven months pregnant, nearly fainted from exhaustion from cleaning houses, but it was not an option, my father's income was just not sufficient enough to support three children and an incoming one. It was at…