Mendoza 1

Claudia Mendoza

Dr. Rita Lawrence

English 101

3 March 2019

I Left my Home at Sixteen

I was born and raised in a small town in Mexico City. My mother died when I was two-

years-old and thus, my oldest sister and I were raised by our dad and stepmother. One day, when

I was sixteen-years-old, I told my dad that I was going to be at my grandmother’s house over the

weekend, however, I left to cross the border of the United States instead.

My father was an alcoholic and unfortunately, he was also a domestic violence abuser. I

loved my dad very much but, the day when I turned sixteen, he came home drunk and got in a

fight with my stepmother. My oldest sister got involved so my father beat her up badly. It was a

bad situation. My sister and I were tired of living in that environment as it was not the first time

it had happened. It seemed that every time he got drunk, he would come home to start a fight.

Due to the extreme physical and psychological abuse, my sister and I felt helpless. The

only person we felt who cared was our uncle living far away in the United States. Therefore, for

some reason, my sister and I decided to reach out to him for help after the incident.

Fortunately, my uncle decided to help us. Together we made a plan to leave Mexico City

and cross the border to the United States.

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On January 22, 1999, my sister and I woke up early and got our school backpacks ready.

We both pretended it was just another day and left the house saying we were going to school.

We knew we had to hurry as we were scheduled to take a flight to Hermosillo, Sonora.

Once we made it to Hermosillo, two family members were waiting for us at the airport.

They were very kind and willing to help. They both gave us a ride to the border of Nogales,

Sonora, the place where we would meet the smuggler who would help us cross the border.

A couple of days after we arrived at Nogales, Mexico, the smuggler guided us thru the

Arizona desert to cross to the United States. We walked for about eight hours. My feet hurt, my

things got heavy and I had to leave them behind. Even though it was January, the desert was hot

during the day and very cold at night. We were hungry and thirsty as we had no food or water.

Walking across the border was harder than I could ever imagine. Thankfully, the sacrifice was

well worth it as we were able to make it to the other side in Nogales, Arizona.

On the evening of January 28, 1999, after traveling hidden inside the cabin of a semi-

truck, my sister and I made it to Phoenix, Arizona. As soon as we got to Phoenix, we met our

uncle again and were delighted to see each other. From that day on, our life took a new path as

my uncle took over the role of a father. He provided us with food, shelter, and gave us the

opportunity to continue attending school. I will be forever thankful for everything he did for us.

Crossing the border illegally, as I did, is not something I am proud of. However, as I

reflect on my life, I believe that it was the right thing to do at the time in order to save our lives

and finally live a better life.