Believing That You Can
encouragement. For all I have accomplished I must give her
credit. Without my mentor’s support none of it would have
ever been possible. Going to school has changed my life.
Educating oneself sure has its advantages. I see it through
the children I teach and in my own children. I can’t thank
you enough for all that you have done. For giving me the
tools needed to succeed in life. Thank you Mrs. Dee!
Maria Segura is a student of the Family Literacy Academy of Immokalee.
Someone I Admire
I would like to talk about my dad because he is one of
the people I follow and listen to every day. His name is Juan
Carlos, a man who was in good shape until 2006. My dad,
whom I greatly admire, has never waited for anyone to help
him around the house. He was the one to fix a table, mow
the yard, and repair our bikes. However, from an early age
my dad started to suffer from diabetes. This illness has
caused a lot of physical problems with his circulatory
system and his insulin level.
In 2000, Juan Carlos Garcia came to the United States
with his parents. After his mother died in 2001, he felt
depressed because his father could not understand why she
had died; consequently, he returned to Cuba. By the time his
father went back to Cuba, my dad had already been alone
for two years, as my mom and I were still in Cuba. As a
result of all of the above he began to feel depressed and he
lost about 100 pounds, which caused various problems then.
Two year later, my mom came to the United States, and
within a few months dad had to go to the hospital because
he had a little bruise on his right foot that the doctor said
was caused by bad circulation. A couple of months after
that it was worse and the doctor had to amputate his leg
under the knee. After that he continued working normally,
but his problems did not stop there. In 2009, my parents
came to Cuba to visit me before I came to this country.
During this trip the doctors in Cuba had to amputate his
other leg below the knee. Finally, his diabetes was under
control for a while.