Personal Narrative: A Career In Construction

In high school I was always a negative person, from rolling my eyes when assignments were given to signing at the sight of something I loathed. Growing up I always looked at what I didn’t have, but when I started working in construction my mindset slowly began to change. Construction is a difficult job and I had a lot to prove considering I was only thirteen; I couldn’t complain or I wouldn’t work for them anymore. At first, I was irritated that I had to work and I swore my mom was only doing this to vex. For those reasons, I chose to only see the negatives: hard labor, working all day, no air conditioning, little pay. However the more I worked, the more I realized that everything my mom has done and is doing is in order for me to do something better than this. She came into this country so I could have more opportunities that doesn’t limit me.
Afterward, I started to look at all the opportunities I am given in life because of my mother’s sacrifice to travel to this country, scared and alone. For example, my cousin Itzel Elena has to take a bus to go to school that’s two towns away while I ride my bike for 30 minutes in order to attend my college. Her brother picks watermelon out from the field for 100 pesos or less a day, that’s exactly 4.94 dollars in the United States. On the other hand, minimum wage in Arizona is 8.05 per hour. In conclusion, my Strawberry Moment helped me realize I have so many opportunities and I have to grateful for