When I had just become a teenager, I got the worst news of all. We were leaving everything behind: my friends, my family, my lifestyle, my comfort to go to the United States.
As I mentioned in the first Part of this tale- The Beginning my family of five was living on a tight budget managed by my mom, and she always seemed to make it work. We never noticed "hard times" but we knew we weren't at liberty to get whatever we wanted when we wanted. We always spent time in the park playing or with our friends on the street. We didn't need much to have fun after school.
My sister and I had our nice group of friends in school. Since we were three years of age, we always had the same classmates. In Spain, students remain in the class, and the teacher changes according to subjects. Therefore, from three to thirteen years I had been with the same students, and we were really good friends. We hung out together and played games.
One day though, our world crumbled to pieces.
All what we had known, all our friends, our places, our customs, our leisure time....gone! Our father had applied to be sent overseas, and to his surprise he was accepted! We were so mad at him! How could he do that to us? I don't recall what my mom's thoughts were, but here we were traveling to the United States of America...a thing you normally only see on T.V.
It took my sister and I a long time to adjust to the way of living in the USA, to make any friends, and especially, to learn the language. I adjusted better than my sister. She was depressed for a long time. In a way we had lost "our freedom". We depended on our parents to take us places...the distances far too great to go anywhere.
My first year in High School
One of the most positive aspects of moving to the USA was that my father would get his salary, plus an extra for living overseas. This made things easier for my mom as we didn't have to live on a tight budget as much as in Spain. On the other hand, food was more expensive here, so coming from a country were food was more economical, and since she had learned to save money, she always looked for cheaper products and cheaper stores. Having a little bit more "freedom" or a little bit more room in the budget did not mean spending money on things that weren't needed. It also didn't mean stop saving money and comparing prices.
While I went to high school, I had some jobs such as babysitting and then later tutoring in Spanish. The money I earned I kept very dearly. I saved it in a savings account and I was very proud of my earnings. If I ever bought anything, I used the skills instilled by my mother and always "shopped around."
While working and living with my parents - still in high school- my parents required me to pay rent. Not because they needed the money, but because they wanted me to start being responsible. Although I did not like paying rent at that time, I am so thankful to them now for helping me realize and be ready for the world we live in today. Especially this factor, is the one that helped me be such a responsible and organized person with my bills.
Senior in HS
When I graduated high school and started going to college, I was the one to pay for ALL my costs of tuition and books. I found ways to make installment plans with the college and never took a loan I wouldn't be able to pay. I graduated college debt-free and all accomplished by myself. I can honestly say I am very proud of having experienced that and obviously, having being able to do that. I have to thank my mom for instilling those saving and responsibility skills in me so early on.