MY STORY

I am Danira and this is my story. I am from Chihuahua, Mexico. My story is almost the same like the others. We came here for better life. I have three kids-two girls and one boy. I think they are the most important and special people in my life. They make me be strong for them.

I miss my family, my country, our traditions, my mom's food. I miss going to the river in the afternoon to catch fish. I also miss my grandmother's stories. I miss going with my sisters to pickup fresh chamomile tea and flowers in the mountains at morning time. Sometimes we didn't have anything to eat, but we were together.

Sometimes it hurts to be here by myself. I mean without my sisters, my mom and my grandmother. But here I have my husband and my kids, They are my other part of my family and I think that is the best gift in my life, Sometimes it hurts when you can't have all of your family together. I know in here, in this country, my kids can have a better life . They can choose what they want to do in the future. Of course if you teach them how they have to work hard for that. I come to the school to learn new things for me and for them.

My Quinceanera

I can remember one of the most special days in my life "my quinceanera." I remember that just was four months before to my quinceanera, and my mom and me didn't have anything ready. Also, my mom thought she was more nervous than me, but I was more worried than her because I had to practice every night my waltz. One month previous to my quinceanera, my mom looked at one of my practices, and she disagreed with my waltz, so my friends and I needed to change all my waltz and create a new one.

When we went to buy my quinceanera dress, I was very sad because I couldn't find a perfect dress for that day. We saw a lot of dresses; pinks, sky blues, greens, yellows, etc., but I didn't want a colored dress. I wanted a white drees, because my quinceanera was going to be just two days before Christmas. Finally, I found a perfect dress. It was white with "catalinas" painted on it. These flowers are used for Christmas.

Two weeks before my quinceanera my mom had everything ready; the food, music, salon, and the church. We just needed to wait for the big day. December 22, 2004, this was the great and long-awaited day. I woke up and took a shower. Then the stylist came and started my makeup and combed my hair. At 12:00 noon I was ready, but now I needed run to the church because I was a little late.

After the mass, was the reception. There were all my family, friends, and all the people that I know. We ate "birria." At 7:00 it was time to show my waltz. Everybody liked it and applauded a lot. After that, one of my grandmoms gave me a surprise. It was a big teddy bear with a little box with a ring and a necklace on it. Finally, it was the "baile," and every person was dancing and had a lot a fun the rest of the night. In short words, this day was an amazing day in my life because here were all my family and friends.