BLOG 1, LSC 394 (Spring 2021)

  Gratitude letter and past self advice

People I'm thankful to: 

I’m thankful to multiple people for helping me to get where I am today.

First, I’m thankful to God. As a Science major, it is sometimes hard to defend my beliefs against some science facts. However, believing in a greater power is what helps me to move on in life. 

I’m thankful to my parents, who gave me an education, home, and support. In Mexico, my parents enrolled me in private schools. My friend’s parents paid for everything they needed it. For me, it was normal to have parents who pay for everything. When I moved to America and enrolled in Independence High School, I realized how lucky I was. Most of my friends and cousins worked from an early age. My cousins started working when they were in elementary school. For most of them, it wasn’t an option. Their parents did not help them, and if they did, they had to pay their parents back. Once I started college, my parents wanted to pay for my education. Our financial situation is not the easiest; thus, I decided to pay it myself. Whenever I have some financial problem, they help me. I believe that everything I’ve been able to do so far is thanks to them.

I’m thankful to my older sister and my grandmother, who raised me. My parents worked all day; thus, they were the ones who raised me. My sister is ten years apart. She helped me in every school project, homework, or presentation I had to do. Also, she taught me to take care of myself—which is why it wasn’t difficult when I moved here.

I’m thankful to Mr. White, Ms., Hopeman, and Mr. Bates from my high school. They all knew that I didn’t know English (they didn’t know Spanish). Many teachers and my advisor wanted me to take only English classes for at least two years. That would’ve pushed my graduation back. However, these teachers were the ones who suggested I take classes as a regular student. Mr. Bates was the one who advised my counselor to let me take regular classes. Mr. White was the one who taught English to first-year students. He was harder on my grading to get better. At the end of the year, he recommended me for honors classes. Ms. Hopeman was the one who taught me to believe in dreams. I believed that I only had two options for my future (doctor or a lawyer). She kept pushing the idea to pursue an art career because I constantly spent my evenings and morning in the art classroom. Thanks to her, I dared to explore more options.

In college, I’m thankful to all the teachers in the art department and music department too. I met them all because I was either in their class or at work (I worked in both departments). They push me to try new opportunities outside of school. Some listened to me whenever I had problems. Also, I received all my letters of recommendation from them. 

I’m thankful to Dr. Tuohy, who was patient with me. He was the one who told me about the STEM program. I never opened up to him about the problems in my personal life. However, he still helped me and was flexible with me. 

Finally, I’m thankful to the friends who were there for me when I wanted to quit everything. Isela one of the first persons I met in the U.S. When some unfortunate events happened, she was the only friend who was there for me. In college, I met Marilyn, Kaung, and Alan. We all have different majors, but we still support each other. I know I can count on them when I have a problem. I’m thankful to the Pyles brothers (Austin and Sheldon), who opened up the doors of their house to me. Lastly, I’m grateful to TJ, who has helped me unconditionally since last year. This past year has been one of the most difficult ones. I don’t think I exaggerate when I say I have at least one mental breakdown every week. He was always available whenever I needed to talk to someone. 

I believe each one of them helped me in one way or another. When I was younger, it was easier to ignore all the problems around me and not try to fix them. Once I started to control my life and care for my future, I realized that I could not do it all without help. Every person has someone who helped them to be where they are today. For me, it is all of them. 

Advice to my past self:

I would advise my younger self not to give up. Even if there are few seconds left, always try. It doesn’t matter how old you are; it is ok to start something new. It is easy to give up. You feel bad about it for at least a day, but then it becomes a habit. Later on, you stop believing in yourself. If you have problems, it is better to tell someone. It is not shameful to ask for help. A person will never be good at everything, so it is normal to ask for help—and it will save you time. 

I believe if I had done all this, it would’ve given more peace to my family. I never opened up to them. I had too many trust issues. Later on, keeping everything bottled up affected everything in life—work, school, personal relationships. 

One last piece of advice…..don’t join the army. That is not for you. Things will get better, so there’s no reason to jump into that boat.