I spent 7 years in Dominican Republic simply because my dad didn't have enough to support my brother, sister, and me. He took us there in 2004, from Alaska. I made an amazing attempt to make it in baseball as a pitcher. I never knew that I was going to spend my time there for so long.
But hey, it was the perfect lesson that would prepare me to become the person I am today.
I injured my arm on a baseball practice and that was the end of my baseball career. After a while I went to live with my grandma from my mom side. My brother and sister were living with my other grandma (dad side). My grandma (mom side) did all she could to provide me and my cousins with food. There were times that I was hungry, I'm talking about truly starving. You see after my grandma's husband or my grandpa died, some of his other relatives took all his land and left my grandma with nothing. So she had to pay rent and also provide for the food at the time being.
My dad wasn't making enough in The U.S. to send us, at least that's what he said. So I had to really work hard to help my grandma get enough money to buy food for us. There were even times that me and my other cousins had to get water almost a mile away with buckets to shower and even drink.
At times I would help my grandma sell plantains and yuca at the local market. We were living in a small municipality called Las Matas de Farfan in San Juan De La Maguana, which is considered part of the South region of Dominican Republic.
Life seemed harsh at first, but then I learned to adapt. People asked me if I would ever return to United States. I always told them that one day I will. I was 16 at the time and my dad promised us that he would come get us, but never specified when. There were times that I would talk to him about bringing us to the U.S. but he said that he couldn't take care of us.
In 2006 I decided to return to the capital, Santo Domingo to live with my other grandma and to try out for baseball again, but it was never the same, my arm wasn't developed anymore to throw at the speed that I use to throw. I was happy to see my brother and sister again, but was not happy to how we lived at my grandma's house. There was no respect for our clothes, our food, or nothing that belonged to us. It was crazy. Everyone lived at my grandma's house.
I'm talking about all my uncles (dad side), my cousins, the wives' of my uncles, and their kids. I was experiencing all my clothes and shoes disappearing. I looked up and prayed God for help. I didn't want to live in my grandma's house anymore.
One day my dad calls with what I thought it was a good news. he said he was coming to Dominican Republic, but not to pick us up... I grew up in the United States; ever since I was 2. In other words, I experienced how is it like to have electricity 24/7, to have water in every faucet in the house, and to eat at will. There are a lot of things that people take for granted in the U.S. Don't get me wrong, DR is a great place, but for someone that is broke and without their own place to live, it's not like living in paradise. lol.
My dad came at that time and brought us shoes and clothes, which I immediately took to my mother's house. I didn't want all of my stuff to disappear at my grandma's (dad side) house. I didn't live with my mother because she didn't have her own place. She was living as a roommate with her cousin, but was looking for a place.
Meanwhile, my dad proposed me that I move in with his at the moment girlfriend, which he has 2 kids with. I thought it was a great idea, at least it was better than dealing with my other relatives at my grandma's house, leaving me butt naked. I mean, it was wrong from them, but I understood that they were humans in need.
So I moved in with my dads girlfriend and bro and sis were living with her too. At first she was such a nice lady, but I noticed that she was not a balanced person. She started treating us in a not a respectful way. And to make long story short, in about 2 years (2008) I moved out to live with my mom. My mom was the solution to my a lot of my problems.
She found a new job and a place to live. I was happy to be out of that other place, where negativity was surrounding that whole environment and eating me alive.
That was the beginning of my growth as a man. I was 17 at the time. I told my mom that I was going to help her out by looking for a job. I had tried working at Dominican food warehouses when I was living with my grandma (mom side), but it never worked out as the work was for animals.
So I started searching for jobs to help my mom out pay for rent and other bills. Through this journey of searching for a job I was introduced to the world of call centers, which provided customer support for U.S. biggest services. I saw the glory of God when I was interviewed and hired as Support Professional Representative.
The project I was hired for was Time Warner Cable at Stream Global Services. There I met new friends, I learned new skills that has to do with on phone customer service and technical support on cable boxes and service issues.
I learned more about computers there too. I remember getting my first check. How proud I was to be able to depend on myself. Without the help of my dad and without having my mom get small loans to feed us and pay for rent.
The best feeling of the world was being able to buy my mom a refrigerator and pay all her debts. She has worked so hard to always making sure that my food and clean clothes were there. I had to give back to my mom.
I lasted working for the company for 3 years. During those years I was able to go to resorts and other fun places with my co-workers. It was GREAT lifestyle. My mom brought her other son or my half-brother to come live us. At that time I was providing for my mom and my little brother.
For the first time ever I got to experience the beauty of my country. The things you're able to experience when you have a financially free life. I was able to go to places that the average person in that country wasn't able to experience. It all started with a choice and desired of wanting a better life for me and my family.
My dad went back to Dominican Republic at the end of 2011. That time he said it was time for us to head back to the United States and that he was now able to live with us. He gave me my passport and my resident's card.
I was ready to come back. I left all my savings to my mother. In January of 2012 I headed back to the U.S. not knowing that another lesson was soon to come. When my dad took me, my brother, and sister to Dominican Republic, I was only 15 years and I had a green card. So when I re-entered the U.S. I was presented with all type of charges such as abandonment of my permanent residency.
Just imagine how nerve wrecking I must have felt. I never knew about immigration laws. So all I could think was how mad I was at my dad for putting me through such situation, but without noticing the lesson that I learned from all that experience.
So after being held for a few hours by Immigration, I was able to provide my testimony or the truth of how everything happened and how I didn't abandon my Permanent Residency to live in the U.S.
I was then free to go, but paroled and put under proceedings for further determination for me to stay in the U.S. My brother and sister came to the U.S. a little after, but they were fine as they are U.S. citizens.
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After spending a few months with my aunt that lives in Puerto Rico. I was proposed by my dad to move back to Alaska to live with him. at that moment I wasn't mad at him. As I understood that he only did what he thought it was right for us.
In March of 2012 I came back to Alaska with the opportunity to growth in mind. I left all my savings to my mom, so here I was again at 0 with my dad. Since I never finished high school in 2004, my dad took me to the DMV to get an ID and then took me to a GED Center called 9 Star. There I met new friends and even some old ones from when I was here last time.
I was so determined to earn my GED that I was able to earn it in within 2 months. I was so proud of myself that even though my dad or any of my relatives didn't attend the graduation, I was still happy of what I just accomplished in such a small time frame. I then found a job at Home Depot. A few months after got a job at Xerox and around that time met the love of my life; Krist! A year after working there I was terminated, but I understood that it was time. I always wanted to own something of my own, have my own business. And I was following that desire, vision, and feeling.
From that whole experience in Dominican Republic to returning back to the U.S., get corporate jobs that I then left a year later, to then finding my true passion and a way to be my own boss, be there for my loved ones, and take back control of my life...
... I learned how to be humble, I learned how to value more what I have at the moment. I learned that no matter how much we struggle in life, it is what prepares us to become the best versions that we can ever be.
Not only I learned the true values of life, but I discovered that we are responsible for our own destiny and that no matter how low we are in life, we have the power and the ability to overwrite our story when we have the desire and determination to change it!
Today I feel blessed and grateful for that experience. I'm married to the love of my life and to a beautiful person that uplifts me and completes me in every aspects of my life. And because of that experience, I can value the goods things that has been given to me in my path and for sure expect many more.
I have found purpose. I currently am building businesses while having a life. Life seems magical. It's like the fog that I was once surrounded by, has been all cleared out.
I have found a way to be financially independent through marketing on the internet, doing hair, and helping others along the way. My wife and I work together as well, assisting others with their hair needs.
I have surrounded myself with the right people that only want to see the best in me and me seeing the best in them. I can only say that life is full of possibilities! I'm grateful for where I am today and for what I have.
I WANT TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE TRUE TRANSFORMATION ONLINE IN YOUR LIFE AND/OR IN YOUR BUSINESS.