Usually it's the parent taking care of their child; in my case it was different. I was seven when I realized I was independent. As a single parent, my mom had three jobs, so by the time I woke up for school my mom was already gone. When I would get home, the house would be exactly how I left it in the morning, lonely and quiet. It wasn't until recently that I understood what my mother went through to put a roof over my head. It was then when I truly felt compassion for her and our situation.
Throughout my childhood, I didn't know what it felt like to get in the car with your mom after school and get asked, "How was your day? What did you learn today? " I never was able to receive homework help from my mom because she didn't speak English. It almost felt like I was living alone. I spoke English most of my day, and then I had to come home and attempt to speak a whole different language, Spanish. This was very confusing and frustrating. I didn't understand why everyone's mom spoke English but mine. I would be very angry with my mom, but then I started to awaken to the fact that we barely saw each other or spoke. She just wanted to provide me with a better life than hers and that's why she worked three jobs. .
My father wasn't there for me either. Falling asleep on his chest or cuddling with him because I was cold or scared, was something I never felt. Whenever he did come to visit it would be constant arguing between him and my mom. All that yelling and cursing in front of me affected me a lot and so my grades in school went down. My teachers noticed the change and that I wasn't the same Caterine anymore. I was so introverted that I didn't even notice my own change. Even though I felt traumatized the constant arguing almost started to feel like a lifestyle. It wasn't until my second grade teacher called home, that I realized something wasn't right. .
One phone call made me realize that happiness can come within.
