There are moments when I want to give up, Moments when I don’t want to organize anymore, Moments when I wonder, “Is it really worth it?” I mean really – is it really worth it? And every time these thoughts slowly creep into my mind, I remember my mother, who struggled in the delivery room hoping that miracles didn’t just happen in the Bible. I remember my Nana Daria, who had to work no less than 14 hours a day in the blistering fields of California to simply provide food and shelter for my aunts and uncles. I remember my abuelo, who came over as a bracero worker in the 1940’s, a farm laborer forced to work for pennies, helping corporations become wealthy on the backs of his own family. I remember my Nana Cuca, who was a seamstress silently sewing the dreams of my family together in a dimly-lit sweatshop in downtown Los Angeles. And then, finally, I think of my baby daughter – I think of what kind of world will I leave for her? What kind of values and morals will I help instill in her? What kind of person will she say her Daddy was? And when I think of all that, I realize that I have no other choice, I have no other option – You see, truth is the real shortcut, Truth does not hide behind walls or borders, Truth does not manipulate or lie. Truth is that smile you get from your partner when there seems like there’s no other way, Truth is knowing that God is talking to you when your dreams and actions become one, Truth is that gut instinct you feel when you are on [...]
