How My Life Changed from Childhood to Adulthood by Ingrid Torres Arevalo I was born in El Salvador on November 10, 1997. When I was a kid, my parents separated. Then my life started to change because I moved with my brothers to live with my grandma – my mother’s mom. When we went to live with my grandma, it was something strange and different from living with my parents. Her house was bigger than ours and we didn’t know the people around us. Our grandma had to adjust, too. She, a single mother, took us in even though my uncle, four years older than me, was still a child in her home. She was good to us and took care of us. After the separation, my dad was living in El Salvador and my mother moved to the United States. Soon after, my dad moved and got remarried. When I was fourteen, my mom sent for me to come to the United States because I was the oldest. That was when my life changed again. I was separated from my brothers and my grandma that I loved very much. I felt sad because I left my grandma, my brothers, and my country. I also felt excited and nervous to see my mom. Everything was different here - the place, the language, and the people. But, I felt protected because my mom was with me. To me, this country was full of opportunities and jobs. After four years, all my brothers and I were together again. They met their nephew, my son Diego, when he was a year old. Having a child is something beautiful and amazing.
Diego, my son
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SPOTLIGHT 2022
