My Grandfather's Words by Priscilla Torres

According to my dead grandfather, “Your courage and enthusiasm are the resources that what you count on to achieve the victory”. This means that it doesn’t matter what rock is in your way, you only have to jump over it and continue walking. Many times it is difficult to do this, but it is not impossible. Most of the time when someone moves to another country, that person has to confront different situations, and for sure a part of his or her culture changes. Since I landed in Chicago, I have seen how my grandfather’s words have been applied to my life.
The hardest part I had to confront, and I’m still confronting, is the relationship with my family. My family and I used to be very close, and I’m including cousins, uncles, and aunts. My mom is not just my mother, but my best friend, my counselor and my confident. However, since I got here, I feel that the communication is not the same because I don’t talk to her every day, and I don’t know what is happening in my house. When I hear that my sister or my parents are having a difficult situation, I feel that I want to become Super Woman to fix it, and it is sad because I know that I don’t have the tools to do anything. Then is when I remember my grandfather’s words, and I realize that my courage and enthusiasm can surpass anything.
Have ever happened to you, that you are going to salute someone and you don’t know how to do it? In my country we are accustomed to saluting people with a kiss on the cheek. People there are very friendly with most of the people. In the U.S., people tend to extend their hand and sometimes just say “hi”. I remember the time I came here I had a Chinese classmate. One morning, I saw her downstairs waiting for the elevator, and I was going to give her a kiss, when I saw her facial expression of fear. Hence, I learned that I can’t be in the same way I was in my country with everyone. However, with my enthusiasm, some friends, including Asian friends, have gotten used to giving me a kiss and take it as normal behavior.
Friends always play an important part in our life. Fortunately, I have found excellent friends in Chicago. Thanks to them is why I am comfortable and don’t feel alone here. They are really special for me; they are like part of my family in this big city. Nevertheless, my heart will always be with my friends in Puerto Rico. Those are friends that had been always with me, and now they are not anymore. I miss those experiences that I had with them, like parties, dinners, stories or just getting together. But even when I miss them, I know that life is like school when you pass a class, you have to go to the next level. Thus, you have to leave some things aside to learn others and grow up.
With my family, new people I meet or my friends, I can apply these words that my grandfather told me when I was eleven years old. My life has changed in many ways, but I don’t regret it because I’m passing to the next level of my life. Even though I love my family, I know they love me too, and they want what is better for me. Thanks to those words that I have always kept in my mind, I know that I’m going to achieve my goals and how I’m going to achieve victory. Of course all of this is possible with humility and God ahead. Day by day, I realize that my life motto is “When seagulls fly, it is not because they want to leave, it is because they want to arrive”.