My Grandfather Changed My Life

It’s a difficult and grueling day picking crops in the midday heat while the sweltering sun is beating. Although I have never experienced this, it was once a reality for my grandparents’ daily lives growing up. This suffering was one that my grandparents never wanted my mom and her sisters to experience. My grandfather, Alejandro, made the tough decision to stop picking crops with his family to get his certificate to sell insurance. His courageous decision supplied his family with the tools they needed to avoid thee immense pressure of juggling school field work, like he did.

Growing up as a Mexican-American girl in South Texas, I was always ashamed of who I was, never wanting to admit my Mexican heritage, despite Alejandra being a very Hispanic-sounding. …show more content…
When I was a small child, he would take me to the local mall every day to visit the bookstore. Even though he could not always afford to buy me a book, we always sat down on the bench to read while in the bookstore. This helped to sow my deep love of reading as a child, which he felt was key to success in school. As I got older, I sat at their dinner table, working on my homework yet at the same time listening avidly to the stories he would share while sipping his coffee. My grandfather would reinforce the fact that he wanted me to work diligently in school so that I would get a high-quality education like he worked so hard to provide all of his 5 daughters with. Through the years, he told me various stories about his life animatedly, grabbing my immediate attention. I remember most vividly the story about his graduation. He did not wear shoes to his own graduation because he could not afford any. He was at the top of his class so he knew he had to be dressed presentably, however, the cost of shoes were far too great for his empty pockets. This story brought a tear to my eye, while reinforcing his value of education despite