La Realidad A late night, the moon high in the sky, Maricela sits in the comfort of her couch where she finally encounters peace. She gently opens her English book and disconnects from the world. After a long enduring day, she gets a limited period of time which she appreciates. Maricela is a person who can’t bring herself to say “no” to anyone who is asking for her help. Constantly taking many duties at once, trying to fulfill them without thinking about herself. It’s a race, each and every day for a mother with an American dream. Living in the United States is one of the toughest experiences immigrants face. Throughout the U.S, the desire for success from immigrants is commonly overlooked, many of their goals and achievements are never taken seriously nor valued to succeed. On top of that, immigrant single mothers experience a load of responsibilities, where they need to fulfill the role of a mother without the support of a partner while adapting to a strange new country. However, Maricela Choque is a hardworking and
loving woman who represents the struggles of living in the United States as an immigrant and single parent. She has dealt with harsh actions and has been looked down on by many people due to her struggle on learning a new language, English. In previous years, as a new immigrant to the United States, she has faced discrimination due to the language barrier when asking for help. Constantly being shut down by others when asking simple questions or directions in Spanish, the only language she knew, has let her realize the reality of living in the U.S as an immigrant. In a recent interview, she reacted, “ Oh, yes, sometimes I had to call for my girls’ insurance. Sometimes they helped me, and sometimes they just told me “no, we don’t speak English ‘’ and hung up on me. And I felt kind of frustrated, helpless. Not being able to, well, not being able to speak English.” Maricela experiences what many immigrants would go through daily, from being ignored to offensive insults.
Maricela Choque is a 36-year-old mother of three kids who moved here to the United States to live the American dream eight years ago, where the first five years were exhaustingly challenging. Before her new life in a new country, she was born in Lima, the heart of Peru, where she grew up with a big family of two brothers and eight sisters. She was given the chance to come to the U.S thanks to her father, who claimed to help his youngest child with a one-way ticket to the United States. She continued to explain, “I arrived in 2013 with my first daughter who was eight years old and my second daughter who was three months old. I got here thanks to my father who asked me and thanks to my sister, who helped me, and my brother-in-law. And really almost all my family, my sister, everyone.” Maricela shares her appreciation to those close to her back in Peru for making her arrival possible though she would soon start a new life with very little support. Days have gotten tougher for her as she continues to adjust when she realizes finding a job to sustain
her young daughters was more burdensome than she could imagine. Though her first job as a car wash worker was brutal due to the high usage of chemicals and being exposed to the scorching heat, Maricela was more than proud to finally find a job. After working in a car wash for a few years, Maricela was able to find a less laborious job at a place where she uncovered her true passion.
Maricela grew into a positive influence on kids from middle school by sharing advice and listening to their struggles as uprising teenagers. Watching them open up to her is a feeling she adores. As a worker in Issac Newton Graham Middle school, her role as a yard duty is to supervise students but, Maricela goes beyond that. The student body population percentage from Graham is about 40.08 % Hispanic, 27.6 % White, and 17.2 % Asian. This means most students are Hispanics, making it easier for Maricela to communicate with them in her native language, Spanish. She shares that she wants to do more than just make sure the kids don’t do anything wrong, she wants to build a bond with them. A young 11 year old boy from Graham has grown fond of Maricela through the similar background they both share. This young man lives with his aunt and cousins, his parents are back in Mexico who are unable to be beside him during his first years in America. During this experience, just like Maricela herself, he had difficulties
learning a new language. Though Maricela was also in the process of learning English, she would encourage him, give him tips, and assure him about the importance of hard work in his education. Letting him know that even with his parents miles away, he could make them proud of his achievements in the United States. Previous to meeting Maricela, this young boy was heading into a different road, where he would most often be around kids who negatively influence him and are disrespectful towards him. Maricela was aware that if he would be with people that don’t get the best out of him, it would make him regret of the choices he could have made differently. With the advice he followed, he has had no problems with his peers and most importantly, they respect him. Now he always waves and greets Maricela during lunch, shares his own accomplishments with her, and opens up to Maricela about his recent contact with his mother.
Maricela believes kids’ brain is in the process of their growth where it’s ready to obtain information. It acts like a “sponge”, a phrase she uses to describe how easily their brain is able to absorb the knowledge, guidance, and advice of those around them. The end of elementary and all of middle school are the years where most kids are absorbing the most and it’s crucial to provide them guidance. Though it can be hard for parents to involve themselves, there is yet one person in the MVWSD District and Mountain View community that is breaking that wall. Maricela is no longer just an immigrant but she is able to stand out and be mentor by helping those around her, by creating relationship with young kids whose parents unfortunately need to work 24/7.
“La vida es corta y uniqua, tienes que aprender apreciarla”
Maricela was able to discover her dream of buying a home where she can have something to call hers. A house for her represents stability and a place where she can nurture. Previously she expressed, “... Buying my house, which is also part of my dreams. Having my little house where I can have my children and one day my grandchildren where my family can visit me. And
without having that fear where not many people can come to my apartment and not have- … that fear of not enough for rent, right? When you pay for your own house one day it will be yours, while I pay my rent and it will never be mine. To have something of my own where my girls can run, a yard where they can play and run and not a small place. It is a great dream, God willing it will be fulfilled...thank you.” She appreciates and cares deeply about her family, the idea of a house is a huge reward after years of hard work, not only for her but for her family. This goal is just one of many, Maricela wants to accomplish more as a mentor to the younger generation in her community. She wants to have a higher role where she can continue to be the person young kids are able to reach out to her. To connect with those just starting their new life in the U.S, she hopes to use her journey to influence others to be better. For her, “ La vida es corta y uniqua, tienes que apreciarla” which translates to “Life is short and unique, you need to appreciate it”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kyhara is a high school junior at Los Altos High School and Freestyle Academy. She enjoys taking pictures of places, objects, and other people except herself. Her favorite animation is Ponyo by Hayao Miyazaki. Her core value in life is having a passion for the things you do. She finds family and friends very important to her. Check out the QR code below to view more details about this project!