Marisol Chavez / Colombia & Mexico
My name is Marisol Chavez Ortiz I am 36 years old and I am half Colombian half Mexican. I was 2 weeks old when I was brought to the United States by my mother. My father was already here but didn’t have a place for us to live. He worked at a restaurant from 9am to 10pm Monday thru Sunday. The owner offered my mom a job as a nanny and I grew up there until the age of 4. Then we moved and we lived in a 4 bedroom house with 4 other families and 5 single men. Each family had one room and everyone else slept in the living room. It seems that we had so little but I had the best childhood, my parents taught me respect, love and appreciation for things small or big. Growing up and going to school and learning English was hard. It’s not easy being a little Hispanic girl who doesn’t speak English! But I made it! As I grew up into an adult and watched how hard my parents worked and struggled. I promised myself that I would make their struggle worth it through my success. I wanted them to know that every hard moment, every difficult day and every tear was all worth it. I wanted them to look at me and know that coming to this country was the best and hardest choice they made. Today I am a Pediatric Nurse working on finishing my BSN. I am married and have 3 wonderful girls. I am so proud to be Colombian and Mexican. It makes me strong and makes me want to show the world that I can do anything anyone else can. I want my girls to feel proud of their background. The greatest quality a Hispanic women holds is we are STRONG and I want my girls to know and feel that. My greatest strength is knowing WHO I AM and WHERE I COME FROM. “We are all made of the same clay, but not from the same mold”-Mexican proverb