Esmeralda Rivera Education Fund

“Esmeralda, how about you check out the US curriculum for the year you’re in?” “Esmeralda, look up universities in the States that you might like.” “Esmeralda, try to get that grade in Physical Science up. At least to an 85.” These are phrases I would very often hear from my dad. I would come up behind him with a glass of water as he tirelessly worked on his computer, answering calls and coming down late to dinner. While I wrote my novels and did homework in my room, across the hall, he’d be groaning, grunting, and asking God for patience when his programs froze or crashed. He’d be pouring his blood, sweat, and tears into his job, accepting the unfair salary to provide for us. And all the while, he’d be worried about me, making sure I did well in school so I could follow my dream one day.

For years, Mom and I never thought that my dad would have a heart attack. It was one of my worst fears, but I always thought he’d make it. He’d grow gray and old with my mom, see me go to college and graduate, walk me down the aisle, hold and spoil his grandkids. But now he won’t see or do any of that. And once he was snatched away from my life, this new motivation sparked in me. I won’t give up on my lifelong dream. I’ll go to university or die trying, and I’ll make him proud.

I wouldn’t have done so well in school if it hadn’t been for him. Joining the Robotics club in middle school, going for a Graphic Design diploma for high school, singing in the school band, becoming an honor student for three years, translating for the missionary groups visiting every year… that wasn’t all me. He would pray every day for me to excel. He always implored me to do my best, just like he did every day.

And during the grueling admissions process for my university, running around in circles while writing emails that would never be answered, he was right there, supporting me every step of the way. Even if he couldn’t do anything to help me directly, he kept me going. And I got in, becoming class president in my first year when I hardly knew my classmates or my teachers through the computer screen.

Now that I’m closing the chapter in my life belonging to Guatemala, I’m ready to set sail for my dream, a dream I kept locked up within me for years after we failed to move back to the US every single year. I want to be a writer, a creator, a motivator, and a role model to so many other people who are almost ready to throw in the towel. I want my novels to be the bestsellers on the shelves, and the new blockbusters on the big screen. I want to experience as much as I can in those four years of studying, test-taking, and essay-writing. I want it all, the stressful part and the fun part. I’m going to do everything I can to achieve my goal, and if God wills it, I’m getting my Bachelor’s in English like I always wanted to, and like my dad always wanted me to.

Thank you all so much in advance for your support. God bless you.