As I walked the streets of Peru with the street dogs barking and the kids playing ball barefooted, it brought back rushing memories of my childhood. I began to think of how great it was, and how being a child in Latin American and being a child in America are two totally different worlds.
As I thought of how I grew up in Guatemala, the word that came to mind is free. Being able to play in the streets with no care in the world is something that I can relate to with the kids in Peru. Being able to walk up and down the streets and having people greet you left and right is something that I love about my culture. Despite the love and pride I feel for my Latin culture walking the streets of Peru also brought a sense of hurt.
Seeing the way the kids play outside till the sun goes down with parents who don’t care if they don’t make it back in time for dinner made my heart hurt. Seeing them come to church on their own is a beautiful but painful thing.
The whole time all I could think was “What would my life be if I still lived in Guatemala?” Don’t get me wrong, I find nothing wrong with living the way Latin American families live because I was one of those families, but seeing their impoverished lives made me feel thankful to God for allowing me to move to the United States.
The sacrifice my parents made to better our lives is something that I will forever be thankful to them for. I am who I am, I can be who I want, I can do anything because of them. I am thankful for the way they raised my brothers and I. I am thankful to them for choosing the United States.
As I sit here and write this I can’t help but think about all the sticky fingers and dirty faces that probably wont get the privilege and opportunity to live in a country like the United States, filled with opportunities and dreams.
Living in South America for the past three months has felt like being back home in Guatemala in a lot of ways. I truly believe that is one of the main reasons why I have fallen in love with the kids I have encountered because I can see 6 year old me.
For those of you born in the United States you have no idea how blessed you are to call America your home. You don’t know how spoiled you are to have what you have. So take a moment to thank God for giving you the life you have and the things you own because trust me the world is watching you.
