Daddy says he can't tugboat our ship much longer. The debts seem to be piling up like viscous snow on a blizzard day. The so called, "American Dream" that pushed him to bring a wife and two children to America is quickly crumbling before him. His raisin wrinkled, exhausted face, shows nothing more than a hint of fear as he tries to disguise his worries with dry humor. He is but a tired old man striving to keep his family above water, a man to truly admire. The same man that had endured two different recessions in two different occasions was on the verge of crying before his eldest son. Feeling so hopeless stuck within those four wall all I could think about was how to pick my dad up from those ashes. Why, I would run a dozen deserts, and a hundred jungles just to see him happy. But then, without warning, daddy's words hit me like a jagged dagger. "No dad! We-we can't go back to Ecuador! Not now!" I begged. "I-I've worked so hard! There are so many opportunities ahead of me! Please!" I was in the body of an adult, yet my soul felt five again, begging dad for something that I knew was out of my threshold. In a heartbeat all of my dreams and aspirations were quickly vanishing. I was confronted with two choices. I could either accept my father's pilgrimage plan like the obedient son that I had always been, or truly express my desire for the first time to the man that has been my hero.
Pushing aside the daunting thoughts of disapproval and regret, I made my intentions clear to my father. Whatever the outcome of our financial crisis, I would firmly stand my ground and take advantage of the opportunities that I had been blessed with. While life far away from one's parents could possibly be one of the toughest things to endure, there is an old saying that raves, "Nothing so much enhances a good as to make sacrifices for it."
I have always looked up to my father for guidance and support, but that unclear spring day was my moment to officially step into adulthood as my own individual. A life changing moment in my life. A declaration to my self as an individual. While tomorrow seems blurry and bleak the future is bright and endless with opportunity.
