Ariana Melendez: Pauperization Paves the Way to Determination
The Texas Story Project.
“The way I view the world is putting those in need before myself, because I feel like I am in a position where I can help those in need.” Helping people is Ariana Melendez's biggest passion.
She was raised to look out for her siblings as much as possible, and now that she’s gotten older she has realized that she used to put toxic people before herself because of her kind-hearted nature. In terms of careers, her passion ties into what she wants to do with her life because growing up in Texas and in a city that is in South Texas, it is very Hispanic-based. Growing up in a predominantly Hispanic community, she saw the struggles. With her parents being immigrants and her being a first-generation American, she came across all the struggles that her community faced even though she didn’t face them herself. “I saw the struggles people faced, like buying a house, or anything that you would typically say “Oh this is so easy to do!” And I think location plays a lot into that because Houston is seen as an immigration hub being so big and so close to the border, you know? It affected the way I grew up and the way I see the world, because seeing these struggles makes me want to help these people. Not by just volunteering, but by changing laws, creating laws that will impact them because immigration has been a topic for several decades now and I want to be a part of the generation that helps get comprehensive immigration reform.”
When asked about a hardship faced in her life, Ariana laid everything on the table. She discussed her life growing up as a first-generation American, Latina, and growing up in a big city in Texas close to the border. “One of the biggest hardships I ever had to face was my dad’s death, because that’s obviously very traumatic for a child… a 10-year-old letting go of their favorite parent that was the man of their eyes. It also led to many more hardships. Like a year before my dad died, my mom got laid off from her job at this Salvadoran bank that ended up going bankrupt. My mom lost her job and because she didn’t graduate here in Texas and instead in her home country it was hard for her to find places that would accept her when she was looking for a job. When my dad died, she was still out of a job and it was hard because my dad was the main one who provided for us, although my parents were divorced. When he was gone we struggled a lot, it would get so bad to the point we wouldn’t eat an entire day, or if we did it was just salt and tortillas because we simply couldn’t afford it [groceries]. This forced me to grow up, I mean I’m the oldest anyways, the oldest of three siblings but I felt like my sisters were way too young and when my mom did end up finding a job a few months later she had to work hard, day and night and was rarely home to raise us during our teenage years. She continued to develop a strong work ethic over time and so me and my sisters were alone a lot. I raised them and had my mom’s back. I matured very quickly, I stopped playing with dolls, the way I spoke was mature, we had no money and ended up getting kicked out of where we lived because my mom couldn’t afford it and had to rent out a 1-bedroom apartment. We had a lot of things because our previous apartment was bigger, and we ended up throwing everything away. We [her sisters, mom, and her] all shared the same bed. My mom was never home because she had a day job and a night job and with us going to school and trying to afford it was tough…I would say that’s the biggest hardship I faced.”
Ariana’s experiences demonstrate the hardships faced amongst people living in Texas as well as people who come from families of immigrants. Many are forced to grow up at a very early age and most do not have a say in what adversity they face. Ariana however, is a role model living in Texas who inspires others and betters her community. She embodies kindness, determination, and overall perseverance.
Madelynn Vasquez is a freshman at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. She studies International Global Studies and is passionate about linguistics and diplomacy. Madelynn was born in Houston, Texas but moved a lot due to her father being in the U.S. Army. She has lived in Houston, San Antonio, Germany, and Fort Campbell. Though Madelynn has lived all over the world, she moved to San Antonio for college.
Posted April 11, 2019
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TAGGED WITH: St. Mary's University, stmarytx.edu
