Albina Esquivel

What is a hero? I think a hero is someone that you can rely on and is there to help you for whatever you need. That is where my grandmother comes in, Albina Esquivel, she is my hero. She has had many challenges such as having to come to the United States and not knowing anything of the language, facing diabetes, and having financial issues. Throughout everything she overcame it all and was still able to be there for me, therefore she inspires me.

I admire that she has not asked anyone to help her and tried to be independent. She came to the United States thinking it would be easier and so her family can live a better life. She never thought of herself, but she put her children first. All she spoke was Spanish. Now that she has grandchildren whose primary language is English she takes classes to learn their language. That shows that she will do anything for us, no matter how challenging it may be.

Another struggle my grandmother has is diabetes. Although she has a hard problem with it she has not given up. That inspires me because she has to go through so much. She has to watch her diet, take certain medication, make sure her blood pressure is right, and so on. She does so much and I know I would not be able to do the same if I were in her situation. It is so much pressure not to mention the fact she has other medical problems. I remember her once telling me she was in so much pain that she would rather die. When being told that, all I could do is cry because I could not understand why she would prefer that? But now I know how much pain she goes through; having problems that most people may not understand, living in a place where she can barely understand, money problems, etc. Yet she is still standing, and has fought the battle that others cannot.

Not so long ago her home, which most of her family spent their lives in, was foreclosed. It was hard for her because, that home had many memories and she just had to give it up. Around the same time, she found out that her godson was murdered and soon after her youngest daughter got into a car accident. Three of the worst possible things yet she could not do much to help. At that moment she could have given up but she did not. Being young I was not sure what to do but be by her side as I watched her cry. I also watched her make a change little by little, like moving on from the death, helping her daughter with physical therapy, and buying a new home. She made it through

She is like a second mother to me, whether aware or not. She made me a better person. She indirectly taught me that you do not need to rely on anyone, to put your family first, and you can do anything you set your mind to. Today, she has new problems but overcomes them just as she did before. If it were not for her, I would not have any motivation to go further in life. She inspires me so much and does not realize it.