International Womens’s Day: La Bruja- My Grandma

My grandma is to put simply my role model, mentor, and best friend all in one. She has been such a big influence in my life. She has been with me all of my life. Since my mom raised me as a single mother, my grandma quickly came to be a  second mother to me. She would be there for me to do my hair for school, drive me everywhere I wanted to go, and would teach me so many valuable lessons of life. She saw me go through every stage of life, from kindergarten to college. She has been there, in my corner, no matter what. She fights for me and drives me to be a better person in life. She went through her struggles and obstacles so her family could have a better life in the United States. So here is her story. 

My grandmother was born in Bani, Dominican Republic. Her family was rather poor and lived in the countryside. Although, she realized rather quickly that the countryside life wasn’t for her. When she was a teenager, she moved away from home to live with her aunt. Her aunt lived in the nicer parts of Bani. Although it wasn’t a big city, it was a start. She lived with her aunt until she met my grandfather. They soon got together and had 4 children. My 2 aunts, my uncle, and finally, my mom. After many trials and tribulations with my grandfather, they separated a while after she had my mom. 

Quickly my grandmother came to the realization that she didn’t need a man, she was a hard worker and could provide for her kids on her own. After this, she came to America and quickly went to work. My grandmother at one point had four different jobs and had only one day off, Sunday, in which she would go to a client’s house and clean for them. She worked tirelessly day and night to provide for her children. She would work and send money to her children back in the Dominican Republic to take care of them. But her obstacles didn’t stop there. One day she got a call that her oldest daughter, Angela, was really sick. She tried to go back to the Dominican Republic as fast as possible, but as soon as she got there, she found out that her daughter was already dead.

 Dealing with this indescribable heartbreak, she came back to America. She used this tragedy to work harder for her kids. She finally reached it when she finally had the funds to be able to bring her 3 kids to America to have a better life. Her perseverance didn’t stop there. She worked hard, she had 4 jobs, working morning to dusk. It was at the point where if her children wanted to see her, they had to go to her job and visit her. For months and years to save up so she could build her own life in Bani, her hometown. 

My grandmother has a lot of characteristics that I wish to gain. Wisdom, determination, hard-working, loyal, compassionate, and forgiving. She worked a lot for more than half of her life, with little to no help. She got her lifestyle through hard work and determination. She has instilled that in me and I am forever grateful for her. Her struggles and obstacles have led me to have the opportunity to go to university and better myself and help my family when I can.