I cried my heart out, but I will always remember Mr. Zeke as a wonderful and helpful man, without whom I would not have been able to achieve anything at all in my field of work in Social Services. Did I mention that all through my life, I have always been an above average student, in fact, an excellent one, and I have received many awards for my excellence form the schools that I have attended. However, at one stage in my life, when I was more interested in hanging out with my friends, and getting drunk and smoking marijuana, I did not concentrate on my studies, and when the Principal Mr. Correa threatened to expel me from the school, I took things into my own hands, and I managed to graduate with a 3.8 average grade. Later on, when I was attending the CCSU, I had to give up school because I did not have enough finances, and nor did my parents. When I returned to my old neighborhood, I found to my horror that there were many people selling drugs openly, and my father had become an alcoholic, and my mother was surviving on welfare. In short, things were all the same as they has been before; only I had changed to a certain extent, and I was now keen to study further and work, find a job, and earn a decent enough living.

This was also the time when I met the mother of my two children, Wanda Sanchez. I found that she was however quite unsuitable for me, and I had to move back to my parents' home and this was when I met Maria Tirado, who I feel is a gift from God to me. She is extremely encouraging, and not only did she encourage me to go back to College,...

She is also a trained nurse, and she was able to really care for my poor mother who suffered a series of strokes when she had gone on a short holiday to Puerto Rico. A few days before her supposed return, my aunt Lucy called up form there and said that my mother had been behaving strangely indeed. I changed my mother's ticket so that she could take the very next flight back home, and found that when she reached the airport, she could not even recognize me, her only child.
I took her to the hospital, and although I knew that something was very wrong with her, could not make the Doctor understand what I wanted, because the Doctor did not understand Spanish, a grave problem that many people like me do face everyday of their lives. However, Maria was there with me, and she made the Doctor understand the seriousness of the situation, and that my mother needed more care and attention, and a CAT scan as well. Maria is also the person who stood by my decision that I need not give up my higher studies, and that I would be able to make it with some encouragement and understanding. She said, Go for it and let no one stop you," and this is the reason that I will never give up my dream of higher studies and give up, like everyone else in my neighborhood.

I do hope that my experience in the field of my work, of Human services, would stand me in good stead when I do need it, and that my proficiency in both Spanish and in English would help me to continue in my own chosen field of work as well. I also hope that others would follow the same example as me, and make serious attempts to study, work hard, and not to give up hope, because when hope is kept alive, that is when one can succeed in his endeavors. I also hope that I would be able to bring about a change in someone's life with the telling of my own story.