Intro Alex, and that tree. I’ve lived in two completely different places. For the greater part of my life, in Ecuador, and for the last 4 years, in California. Moving away from the place that I spent my entire life at, has really changed me. I had to leave all of the people I love and everyone I ever knew, and move to a strange place where I had no one except my mom, dad, and brother. Moving to California made me become a new person, a different person than who I was in Ecuador. In the following Vignettes Italk about what has made me into who I was in Ecuador, and what made me into what I am today.
I talk a lot about the trip to California, and the first few months here because it was a very traumatic experience for me that pains me to think about even to this day. I’ll always miss the person I was in Ecuador, even if I don’t remember who I was. But I will always love the person that I am today and will continue to better self and live the best life I can live. I got out of the U-HAUL truck, it was 2 in the morning and my body, exhausted from the dozens of hours I just spent flying and driving from Ecuador, walked into a new house. I entered into the new house, it was so empty.
I could feel the weight in the air. The cold, frightening new air. I walked over to what is now my parents room, 1 rolled the sleeping bag onto the carpet, and slept on the floor. Something felt strange, I was sleeping on carpet. Never before had I fallen asleep on carpet. Always on hardwood floor. I recall falling asleep in sorrow, trying to grasp a little bit of hope out of myself. I tried to see the best in the situation, but all I could think about was the people I just left, all I could think about was the past. I couldn’t bring myself to the present.
My mind and heart still in Ecuador, my cold body here. This was probably one of the worst moments of my life. I don’t think I have ever cried so much. I don’t think that I’ve ever felt so isolated. I didn’t know who I was. Everything that made me had the reset button pushed on it. All of my pride and courage felt lost. I felt so weak. I needed to become someone new. The worst part about all of this, is that that night I lost a part of myself, a part of myself that I try to reach every day. I don’t know what I used to be, all I can remember is that tree.
But that night made me who I am today, that night and every night after that. I just wish that I could include everything before that, I wish I could salvage that part of myself, that part of myself that no one, no one knows. Unknown I fell to the wet grass. Exhausted, the best exhaustment I have ever felt. My neighbor and friend Bruno dropped to the ground with me. We laid there for a second. In a short moment we were back on our feet, sipping water from the bottles we just grabbed off of the tan wall. We jumped on the little wall, Bruno going first, then I.
He grasped the branch that we referred to as the main branch. Jumping up and pulling his body up to the top and I followed all that he did. I went up to my little spot, stepping off of the main branch and onto one of the three branches that led up to the top of the tree. I lay down on my spot and Bruno did too, his spot was lower than mine. This was the best part of our day. A second to stop everything we were doing and live in the moment. We spent some time in silence, just relaxing, drawing some energy back. Then we talked. We talked about anything, didn’t matter what.
We always found something to talk about, we always found something to laugh about; I don’t remember what we would talk about. I know that we talked, but I can’t seem to figure out what we talked about, as hard as I try, I can’t remember. Airport Doors I don’t remember when it all started. The idea that we would move to America. It didn’t shock me at first, I never thought it would happen. I thought it was just a stupid little idea that would never become a real thing. I dreamed about what it would be like moving away, leaving those I love, leaving everything I ever had.
I wondered how it was gonna be here, I didn’t know what I was in for. What would it be like here, who would I become friends with? Would I be happy? It was all so new. I had no clue what it could be, I just had a feeling that it wouldn’t be good. And in the snap of my fingers, this crazy idea. It became reality. And next thing I knew, I walked in. The big airport doors opened. My brother, mom and dad walked in with me, along with my grandma and some other family members. I was carrying three backpacks, rolling the two biggest ones and carrying the other in my back.
I walked slowly, following my family members everywhere they went. I don’t really remember much. The only thing that I can make out, the only clear moment out of that long blur that it was moving to California, was saying bye to my grandma. I cried, and I couldn’t stop crying, I couldn’t stop crying for hours. I hugged her, hugged her so intensely, harder than I’ve ever hugged anyone. But it was time to leave. I looked back, but I had to turn away, it was too painful. I looked down towards the floor as I walked to my plane, my heart trying to go backwards but my feet pulling it forwards.
I got into the plane and that was it, my face went blank. I couldn’t think about anything. My body overpowered with emptiness, I just sat down, and enjoyed the ride. 6th Grade It was another lonely day. I walked from the middle school gym, past the clock tower and onto the benches near Mrs. Dresslers room. I was walking alone, trying to find someone that I’ve talked to before, when I stumbled onto a guy named Alex. I decided to sit next to him, he was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich along with some grapes and a Cliff bar. I sat down, and I asked him if he had any food I could have.
Alex turned towards me and gave me his Cliff bar. I said thanks as| struggled to start a conversation. We ended up talking about magic, or cars or something like that. This was probably the first time that I had a real conversation with someone in California, well, with someone who wasn’t an adult or someone I was sent to work with for a class. We talked for the remaining 10 minutes or so of lunch and we decided that we would talk again sometime. It was pretty awkward but we were both glad that we spoke to each other since we didn’t really have any friends.
This was the first time out of… hundreds to thousands of times that I’ve talked to Alex. He lives in Mariposa now and I haven’t gotten to see him for a couple months but we still text every day. Alex is the reason that I am who I am today, and I like to think that I’m the reason he is what he is too. We didn’t have any friends, so we started spending lots of time together, every single day. My first Halloween in the U. S. was spent with him, all day and night. We were best friends. We spent so much time together, we walked around at lunch and soon we started talking to new people.
We started meeting some people like Danny and Nikolai, later we met Kobe and Adrian and some other people. In just a couple months we went from not knowing each other and not having any real friends, to having a small group of people hang out with us and have some options of people to talk to. We went from being anti-social to meeting new people, and soon, we were meeting new people constantly. This is when I feel my life started to take shape, I was making new friends, I was playing soccer and having lots of fun with it, I was able to reach out to friends when I had some problem. I was finally starting to be happy. Mariposa
The house was silent. It’s very unusual that my house is silent, especially if my brother and parents are home. It was a Saturday and it was a three day weekend, I tried to get all my homework done so I could enjoy the rest of the break. As I was doing homework, I hear loud thumps coming from the hallway and my door opens in an instant. Danny and Nikolai run in, I was confused. They stared at me with a mischievous smile, and next thing I knew, Alex walked into my room. I ran to him and gave him a huge hug and tried to understand what was going on. This was the first time I saw Alex in months, you see, he moved to Mariposa.
We hugged as I tried to comprehend that he was really here. He had been texting me all day saying how he had to take care of his cat or how he had to clean out his garage or something like that. The last thing I expected was for his to come barging into my room like that. I was really happy at that moment, my three day weekend just received the best upgrade I could’ve wished for. We went out and did stuff all day, and eventually we made it back home. Danny and Nikolai left, and we had some time to ourselves. We layed down on pile of mats and pillows that we set up in the middle of my room, and we started to talk.
We talked about how our lives were going, how school was, how our friends were doing, and obviously, girls. We stayed up until 4 in the morning just talking to each other about how we were doing. We both seemed to be doing well. I had such an amazing time with him those three days, and when he finally had to leave, I thanked him. I thanked him because he helped me be who I was today. He learned with me how to socialize and how to make connections with friends and have them trust you, and most importantly being able to trust them. I cried when he left, nothing too bad because I knew I would see him soon.
I gave him a big hug as he left my room, and closed the door quietly. The Tree I woke up. It was the day, the day I would leave Ecuador. Our family spent the last couple of weeks packing everything up, putting some things in the attic, and taking what we wanted most. We were all ready to leave, the only thing left to do was wait and say goodbye to everyone I loved. I walked out my house and I knew there was only one thing to do, go to that damn tree. Walking very slowly I made my way to the tree. I grabbed the main branch and I pulled myself up onto the tree, where I made my way up to my spot.
I can still remember what it was like sitting there that night. I spent over 2 hours on that tree, going from branch to branch, up and down the different routes that I found over the years. I even jumped out of the tree when people were walking by to scare them. But for the last 20 minutes I just sat there and did nothing. I reminisced all the good times that I had in that tree. I tried to bring some of the memories with me, remember everything the tree had done for me and take it with me. I like to think that I still have that part of myself in me, but maybe, maybe that part has been left in that tree, and it isn’t a part of me at all.
