Why I Am Who I Am
I am Isis Sarahi Torres Hernandez. My name is very important to me because it’s unique and it’s not very common. I was born in a beautiful place named Ciudad Guzman Jalisco Mexico, on June 16th 1995. I am the youngest one from five children. I have three sisters, a brother and six nephews. I am also a teen parent.
My mother, Maria Hernandez Castolo, was born on October 4th 1976 in Sayula Mexico. She moved to Ciudad Guzman in her early childhood. She is the second oldest from four children. My mother is my inspiration and someone who I admire because she had a very traumatic, tough life, but she made it through. She was treated badly and was always getting beat up by her oldest brother and her mom. At the age of seven she lost her dad in a traumatic accident that affected her for the rest of her life. By the time she was nine she was already working to help support her family and not only that, she was also taking care of her two youngest sisters on a daily basis. At the age of fourteen she had her first daughter, her life changed completely.
My father, Javier Torres Bernal, was born in Mexico City, on February 2nd, 1958. He comes from a middle class family and he is the oldest one from seven. I don’t know much about his childhood, but I do know that his dad died when he was only a teenager. My father is my hero because if it weren’t because of him, I would not be at the place where I am right now. My father is a hard workingman who is always trying to find a way to keep moving forward. He is very intelligent, supportive, and strong. He taught me very important lessons. He got married in his early 20’s and he had two children. He met my mom at a restaurant where she worked, and from stories that I’ve heard my dad would always go eat there. After a few years of knowing each other they finally decided to get married and two years after they decided to have me.
My early childhood is filled with happy memories. I am the youngest one from five children. My brother Orlando is fourteen years older than I am and my oldest sister is twelve years older than I am. But they are only my dad’s children. My second oldest sister is four years older than I am and finally Cielo she is two years older than I am. My mom was a hard working parent and so was my dad. When my mom worked my dad would take care of us and when it was the other way around my mom would take care of us. When my dad came to the United States my mom was a stay at home mom because my dad was the one supporting us. We weren’t wealthy, but we were definitely not poor. We could afford school uniforms, new clothes and shoes at least twice a year. We went on round trips to beach to the lagoon and to the river it was lots of fun.
Jalisco Mexico was a great place to grow up. I grew up in a very calm neighborhood. I enjoyed playing outside; the weather was great it was never too cold to go out and play. School was one of my best hobbies because I really enjoyed school. I was always getting good grades, perfect attendance and I was always first place in student achievement. My parents were very proud of me and have been ever since I started school. The last grade that I completed in Mexico was fourth grade. At the age of eight I came to the United States for a better future.
I’ve been living here in Colorado for nine years. I lived with my parents and we were renting a beautiful house in Carbondale. But after four years living there we had to move out because we couldn’t afford it anymore. We moved several times until we stayed at my uncle’s house. In January 2011 my mom left to Mexico. I stayed here with my dad. We were living at my uncle’s house for about two years, but once again we had to move out because the economy was pretty bad and my uncle wanted to sell the house where we were living. We ended up renting a room in a trailer park it was very small. We had a kitchen and a bathroom in that same room. The only thing that fit there was a bed and a desk it was ridiculous, but we had nowhere else to go. It was annoying to live there because I had no privacy neither did my dad. Every time we could cook all of our cloth would smell like food. The worst experience there was during the winter when the pipes would freeze everything would freeze we couldn’t use the sink to wash dishes or sometimes the shower it was frustrating because I had to be washing dishes in the shower or wash them with freezing cold water. I didn’t like the people were renting because they were demanding, annoying and they would never fix the pipes for the water. We lived there for more than a year I hated it.
In January 2013 my boyfriend Luiz and I were approved for a program that helps with housing and we moved in together in March. I met Luiz in Carbondale Middle School and a year after we met we started dating. We have been dating for almost five years and we have a two-year-old amazing baby boy. This is my last year in High School and I am very proud of everything that I have achieved. I am very thankful for my parents especially my dad who has supported me through everything. Without my dad I would be lost.
Yampah Mountain High School is a school of opportunity, I am very thankful for this school because of the Teen Parent Program. “The mission of the Yampah Teen Parent Program is to support member district pregnant & parenting students to become self-sufficient, involved citizens in their communities while working towards their high school diploma. In a safe and caring community of their peers, pregnant and parenting teens are provided with education in the best practices of parenting education and early childhood development Children up to age 3 ½ are nurtured on site in our nationally accredited infant and toddler nursery programs. All students enrolled in the TPP participate in the four components of family literacy: HS Diploma, PACT (intergenerational literacy time), Parenting, and Early Childhood Education.” (http://tpp.ymhs.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/integrated_home.phtml?&gid=1507724&sessionid=c080cb40c02e10064eb3097bdbedc505)
In five years I see my self in a stable home, married and graduating from college. I want to obtain a job in the nursing field and I want to go visit my mom in Mexico. I also want to help my dad financially so he won’t have to work as much. Yampah Mountain High School is a great school for people who need flexibility, freedom and understanding. Sally Kilton is an amazing teacher she is the best teacher I’ve ever had. I have no words to explain how thankful and how honored I feel to have such a great powerful woman in my life. Without Yampah Mountain High School I wouldn’t have graduated, and I honestly do not know where I would be right now.
I am Isis Sarahi Torres Hernandez. My name is very important to me because it’s unique and it’s not very common. I was born in a beautiful place named Ciudad Guzman Jalisco Mexico, on June 16th 1995. I am the youngest one from five children. I have three sisters, a brother and six nephews. I am also a teen parent.
My mother, Maria Hernandez Castolo, was born on October 4th 1976 in Sayula Mexico. She moved to Ciudad Guzman in her early childhood. She is the second oldest from four children. My mother is my inspiration and someone who I admire because she had a very traumatic, tough life, but she made it through. She was treated badly and was always getting beat up by her oldest brother and her mom. At the age of seven she lost her dad in a traumatic accident that affected her for the rest of her life. By the time she was nine she was already working to help support her family and not only that, she was also taking care of her two youngest sisters on a daily basis. At the age of fourteen she had her first daughter, her life changed completely.
My father, Javier Torres Bernal, was born in Mexico City, on February 2nd, 1958. He comes from a middle class family and he is the oldest one from seven. I don’t know much about his childhood, but I do know that his dad died when he was only a teenager. My father is my hero because if it weren’t because of him, I would not be at the place where I am right now. My father is a hard workingman who is always trying to find a way to keep moving forward. He is very intelligent, supportive, and strong. He taught me very important lessons. He got married in his early 20’s and he had two children. He met my mom at a restaurant where she worked, and from stories that I’ve heard my dad would always go eat there. After a few years of knowing each other they finally decided to get married and two years after they decided to have me.
My early childhood is filled with happy memories. I am the youngest one from five children. My brother Orlando is fourteen years older than I am and my oldest sister is twelve years older than I am. But they are only my dad’s children. My second oldest sister is four years older than I am and finally Cielo she is two years older than I am. My mom was a hard working parent and so was my dad. When my mom worked my dad would take care of us and when it was the other way around my mom would take care of us. When my dad came to the United States my mom was a stay at home mom because my dad was the one supporting us. We weren’t wealthy, but we were definitely not poor. We could afford school uniforms, new clothes and shoes at least twice a year. We went on round trips to beach to the lagoon and to the river it was lots of fun.
Jalisco Mexico was a great place to grow up. I grew up in a very calm neighborhood. I enjoyed playing outside; the weather was great it was never too cold to go out and play. School was one of my best hobbies because I really enjoyed school. I was always getting good grades, perfect attendance and I was always first place in student achievement. My parents were very proud of me and have been ever since I started school. The last grade that I completed in Mexico was fourth grade. At the age of eight I came to the United States for a better future.
I’ve been living here in Colorado for nine years. I lived with my parents and we were renting a beautiful house in Carbondale. But after four years living there we had to move out because we couldn’t afford it anymore. We moved several times until we stayed at my uncle’s house. In January 2011 my mom left to Mexico. I stayed here with my dad. We were living at my uncle’s house for about two years, but once again we had to move out because the economy was pretty bad and my uncle wanted to sell the house where we were living. We ended up renting a room in a trailer park it was very small. We had a kitchen and a bathroom in that same room. The only thing that fit there was a bed and a desk it was ridiculous, but we had nowhere else to go. It was annoying to live there because I had no privacy neither did my dad. Every time we could cook all of our cloth would smell like food. The worst experience there was during the winter when the pipes would freeze everything would freeze we couldn’t use the sink to wash dishes or sometimes the shower it was frustrating because I had to be washing dishes in the shower or wash them with freezing cold water. I didn’t like the people were renting because they were demanding, annoying and they would never fix the pipes for the water. We lived there for more than a year I hated it.
In January 2013 my boyfriend Luiz and I were approved for a program that helps with housing and we moved in together in March. I met Luiz in Carbondale Middle School and a year after we met we started dating. We have been dating for almost five years and we have a two-year-old amazing baby boy. This is my last year in High School and I am very proud of everything that I have achieved. I am very thankful for my parents especially my dad who has supported me through everything. Without my dad I would be lost.
Yampah Mountain High School is a school of opportunity, I am very thankful for this school because of the Teen Parent Program. “The mission of the Yampah Teen Parent Program is to support member district pregnant & parenting students to become self-sufficient, involved citizens in their communities while working towards their high school diploma. In a safe and caring community of their peers, pregnant and parenting teens are provided with education in the best practices of parenting education and early childhood development Children up to age 3 ½ are nurtured on site in our nationally accredited infant and toddler nursery programs. All students enrolled in the TPP participate in the four components of family literacy: HS Diploma, PACT (intergenerational literacy time), Parenting, and Early Childhood Education.” (http://tpp.ymhs.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/integrated_home.phtml?&gid=1507724&sessionid=c080cb40c02e10064eb3097bdbedc505)
In five years I see my self in a stable home, married and graduating from college. I want to obtain a job in the nursing field and I want to go visit my mom in Mexico. I also want to help my dad financially so he won’t have to work as much. Yampah Mountain High School is a great school for people who need flexibility, freedom and understanding. Sally Kilton is an amazing teacher she is the best teacher I’ve ever had. I have no words to explain how thankful and how honored I feel to have such a great powerful woman in my life. Without Yampah Mountain High School I wouldn’t have graduated, and I honestly do not know where I would be right now.