Before I was born, my mom and dad were best friends since they were kids in their hometown in Puebla, Mexico. They never dated until my dad asked my mom to go to the United States with him in 1991. Before they got married, in the 1990’s my grandpa asked my dad and uncles to work in the United States because the economy was better with better jobs and better lifestyles. When my dad was 19 years-old he left Mexico and crossed the border to the United States to work with my grandpa. Although they came to the United States, they stayed in Houston, Texas meanwhile my grandpa was already in the United States but in Chicago, Illinois. Since my dad was in Texas, he communicated with my grandpa by sending letters, and postcards. It was their only way to communicate with each other since they didn’t know how to get into contact over the phone. My dad also sent letters back in Mexico to my mom and my grandma. A year later my dad went back to Mexico to get my mom and asked her to get married with him. 

The letters above are letters that my parents received from each other as well as letters from my aunt Maria (my mom’s sister) and great aunt Rutilia (my mom’s aunt) when my mom came to the United States afterwards with my dad. These letters are so important to me because they tell emotional stories from back in Mexico and how life was back then. It makes me realize how difficult it was for my parents to leave so much behind in Mexico in order for them to make a better living for themselves. When reading the letters you can tell how caring my aunt and great aunt were towards my mom, and they always asked to get a letter back as soon as possible to make sure she was doing okay. They wrote letters about themselves, how they were doing, and how my grandma (my mom’s mom) was always so worried about my mom. My Aunt Maria had written to my mom about her first heartbreak and how much she misses my mom and can’t wait to go to the United States to be with her. In addition, my great aunt would send food recipes, which my mom asked to make in the United States. Still to this day, my mom makes recipes like the walnut cake (above) my great aunt sent. 
I cherish these letters so much because these are genuine feelings from each other and show how much my parents sacrificed themselves to leave their hometown and stay in the United States for a better life for me and my sisters.