Gates essay #3

Most of my family was born in México, my father and mother came over here to the United States for the same reason most immigrants do, in search of the American dream. I am the only child, out of my four siblings, that has had the privilege to be born a citizen of the United States. My mother never had the opportunity to attend high school because in México, she would have to stay at home to take care of her younger siblings and help her mother with the daily chores. My father on the other hand was in the Mexican Air Force, as a result of that; he had the opportunity to receive a college education. Both my parents not only had to leave their families behind in Mexico when they left, but also their lives. They knew however, that we deserved a better future. They are exceptional and hard working people, and as cliché as it sounds, they are truly my heroes. I completely and utterly admire them. I feel so privileged to be born in the United States. I have so many opportunities to accomplish my goals that my parents never had. They gave me an advantage towards a better and successful future. The first place I can remember we lived in was a two-bedroom apartment. It was beyond cramped, considering there were six people living there. My dad had just begun to work as a fisherman in Alaska and gain some profit. My mother would clean houses all day long. From the very beginning they demonstrated to us that hard work pays off.
It was during elementary school when I invited two boys to my house to play, there were my friends from school. Their mothers, however no mom never picked them up, then my mother became worried. They told us that from time to time their mother would leave them home for days, with out supervision or food. It soon became too much for my mother to bear. She finally took this to the police and the court declared that their mother no longer could support these children. My parents, after a long and tedious process, ended up with full adoption of two boys. Not only was this a new experience for me, but for my entire family. During the time of the adoption my parent were not citizens or residents to this country yet, so it made the process more difficult. With the right lawyer and determination, they ended up getting their residency. With the adoptions the family was grew no to eight, making it harder for my parents to support the family. This meant longer hours working and less time with the family. They never gave up though; they knew that the end result was worth it. Now with all problems fixed I was able to start paying them back for what they did for me. I wanted to be the best person I could be by accomplishing my studies and graduating from high school with outstanding community service. I know my mother will be happy to see her son accomplish something she could never do and seeing her eyes I know I made her a proud to have a son that will succeed at anything he tries. I guess being a Hispanic itself was a struggle I had to overcome. I wont be stopping there either, but going to college and acquiring an education that would lead me to career my parents never dreamed of. I know that never in my whole life will I be able to repay what my parents that suffered to give me the life I deserve, but I promise to do whatever is in my power to make them proud.