Letter to Angel - by Ana Guerrero

Dear Angel,

I’ve never told you this, but ever since I was little, I already looked up to you. You might be thinking, “How can you say this if I didn’t even finish my education?” Well, to me that doesn’t matter. To me you are a great example of success and perseverance. Anyhow, you know that it was not your choice to not pursue higher education. Due to adversity, your parents’ separation, and the fact that you are the eldest child, you found yourself in a quagmire, and weren’t able to move on to what was supposed to be the most significant chapter in your life.

I really admire you for having the tenacity to choose to help my tia Monica economically, since your dad decided not to help her. Even if my aunt wished to help you by working herself, she couldn’t do that because she had to stay home to raise her newborn child. But after five years as the sole provider, your mom is now able to work and provide her children with necessities. Dude, you were only 18 when you took on this responsibility, not only for yourself, but for my tia and my three cousins. You were only 18 when you were forced to give up all your hopes and dreams and kept away from showing the rest of the world your potential.

I am writing this letter to you to let you know that people like you inspire me to give the best in me everyday and take advantage of what’s been given to me. My purpose in this letter is not to talk about my feelings or make you feel inferior, but to make you feel quite the opposite way.

Yeah, you didn’t finish school, but that doesn’t mean you’re a failure. You worked two shifts, day and night. I bet that the most rewarding feeling was coming home at the end of the day and seeing a proud smile from your mother’s teared-up face and receiving a kiss from your siblings with a, “Te quiero mucho manito.” Yeah, my tio Juan left you guys, but that didn’t stop you from succeeding. Maybe you didn’t succeed the way you had planned, but you did it anyway!

Angelito, if I were President, you would be president with me because you really deserve the best from all the munificent actions you took. We both can’t be presidents simultaneously, but if I had the power I would give you a second opportunity. This means that you would major in what you’re most passionate about and exercise the career you always wanted. Not only would I give you an opportunity to go back to school, but I would also lower college tuition fees because that is another reason why you didn’t attend college. College fees are too high and it makes it impossible for some people with big dreams to fulfill them.

I feel that if you would have gone to college, you would have attended medical school and would have become the best neurosurgeon in the world. But that didn’t happen because the cost of attending college was far out of your reach since you had to pay for the endless bills including rent and personal necessities. I want you to know that it is never too late to go back to school. In fact, you should go back to school because there are a lot of people that are in need of a talented person like you. Now that you are able to sustain yourself financially, you should really consider pursuing your “lost dreams.” By doing this, you will be able to sit with your daughter and recount your wonderful life story and she will be the proudest daughter there is.

Sincerely,
Ana Guerrero