One day in November, I am waiting for an admissions letter from Princeton. My mom told me that I have chores. My favorite ‘chore’ is to get the mail from the mailbox.

“I am going to get the mail out of our mailbox, Mama! Princeton told me that they have delivered my admissions letter.”  

I walked up to the mailbox and it is true. My admissions letter is here. I am so excited to open it, but not now, my whole family is coming over to my house tonight, and I am going to share the announcement.

“Mom, I got the mail, and I am here. I am going to wait for my dad like you said.” “Okay,”

I was assigned pretty much every day to get the mail that is delivered here. Now my mom is driving me to the DMV because I am taking the test today. As a result, I got my driver’s license, but my dad’s truck broke down and I am going to pick him up from his job. My dad works as a mechanic and even though he did not finish high school, this was the best job he ever had in his life because he was good at selling cars. He had an old truck and it pretty breaks down every week. I advised him to get a new truck, but he did not want to because the old truck he has was owned by his father.

“Hey, dad. How many times have I told you your truck would break down! You never listen!”

“Well, congrats... Listen hijo. I have told you many times you have been growing up since you were raised here, but you have done a great job to respect me and your mom, How about a real treat tomorrow night. We are planning to take you to a restaurant and get some dinner. Are you in for that my hijo?”

“That would be great because I have been working hard and sometimes, I need a break from life, so it would be relaxing to eat as a family.”

We have come back home and even after my dad got out of work, he got someone to tow his truck to his house, and now he is trying to fix his truck even though it is so old. Even though he has ignored my advice to get a new truck, he has come up with an idea to upgrade his truck and make his truck brand new. I have come outside and see what he is doing to his truck.

“How is your truck been doing? Even though you have ignored my advice a couple of times, at least your truck could have got a lot of worse

“Yes, my hijo. My truck is 60 years old, but this truck will be brand new in a couple of weeks. But, you can help me out and you can drive my truck anywhere you want because you have your driver’s license.

“Thank you, dad. That is very meaningful for you to say. I don’t know what to say right now.”

“Just thank God for everything in your life. Now, let’s go inside the house and announce your admissions letter.”

My whole family is not here yet, but they are coming soon. To kill time, I am going to relax watching TV. I listen to some Mexican music and I go crazy with the songs. My dad is calling me right now to come down the stairs and my family has arrived. I grabbed the admissions letter and I announced it to the whole family.

“Buenas Noches!” Tonight, I will announce whether I got into Princeton or not. We have a lot of cake because there is a cake with the acceptance or the cake with the rejection on it. So, enjoy yourselves and I will tell you right now.

I opened my admissions letter and this shocked me.

“ ‘Dear Andre. Congratulations! On behalf of the Princeton College community, I am pleased to announce your admission for Fall 2019! The academic and personal accomplishments you have already achieved within your school and community reflect what we value, respect, and expect in our students.’ I got into Princeton!!”

My mom was filled with tears as he comes to hug me. Ever since I was born in California, but my parents immigrated from Mexico, this is a huge moment for us. Me as a first-generation college student. This is even crazier because it just happened, but I thank God for everything that happened in my life.

“Let’s f***ing go, Dad!”

“No cursing my hijo, but at this moment, hell yeah!!”

Even though my mom made two cakes, we decided to eat both of them because we did not know if I was going to get accepted or rejected. The acceptance cake had vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and pistachio ice cream because it is an ice cream cake and for the rejection cake, it was a big double chocolate and party cake, but both cakes are so good that I blew the candle on the acceptance cake. They promised me to take me to a restaurant and they did. The food was great to eat for memories.

May 1st was Decision Day; I have a big decision to make about where I am going to be for school. The top three schools that I am considering is Stanford, Princeton, and Columbia. They have called my name, and I walk up the stage waving my hand to everyone and smiling, but my mind is not happy as it is screaming. But I brought a bag with three hats of the colleges I am deciding between. This bag was from my grandfather and I am honoring him with my big decision. I have chosen to go to Princeton.

Now in August, I am departing from home, but before I leave to go to the University of Princeton, I had a conversation with my dad and we talked for almost half an hour.

“You know my hijo, you are going to do a lot of great things in this world and I am proud to have a son like you. Before you go, I am going to give you $500 extra in case you need to pay anything you might need for college.

“Thank you, dad. I do not know what to say, but thank you for the money. I did not expect this from a father; at least you love me for so long.”

“Good luck in your future and God will be with you all the time.”

“Thank you, dad. I know you will take care of my sister and thank you for taking care of me.”

My dad and my family went with me to the airport early in the morning and we said goodbye to each other. I took a prolonged flying all the way to Princeton, New Jersey. The flight was 5 hours, and after a sustained flight, I am moving my way to the University of Princeton. But I have received tragic news: My mom passed away when I was enjoying moving day at Princeton.