Priscilla Garza
For someone who’s never had a strong relationship with their father, I’m incredibly grateful for the people in my life who have supported me emotionally, especially my amazing mom, my hermano… and my grandfather.
I want to take this moment to honor him, my beautiful, ambitious abuelo. A man who works hard, who is wise and passionate. Someone who always stands up for others, no matter who they are. For as long as I can remember, my grandpa has been the glue holding our family together. No matter what you’re going through or how you treat him, if you’re family, he’ll never let anything get in the way of that bond.
Abuelo has always stayed true to himself and everyone else. Even when things got ugly within the family, he never let that determine what the future would look like. He believed in healing, in moving forward. If it weren’t for my grandpa, I truly don’t think I’d be here right now, and I say that from the bottom of my heart. That, to me, is something amazing.
It makes me think a lot about him. About what his life was like growing up, and why he is the way he is now. Learning about my grandpa feels like an honor; it gives me wisdom and fills me with gratitude.
He was born in Michoacán, Mexico, on November 22, 1967. His family lived in poverty. They had to do everything they could to survive. When my grandpa was only 9 years old, his parents made a plan: he would leave school and start working. That became his reality.
He started by helping landscapers, pulling weeds from their workspaces. Every week, he would leave the family ranch and go stay with his grandmother in the city to work, returning only once a week to help his parents at home. He told me that during that time, he often felt sad and lonely.
That part of his story always hits me deeply. I can’t imagine being away from my mom at such a young age. It breaks my heart, and yet, it makes me admire him even more. Despite that lonely path, my grandpa grew into someone sweet and full of love. He’s been there for my family every single time we’ve had nowhere else to turn.
He eventually got a formal job at 13. Then, in the year 2000, he migrated to the U.S. alone. He said it was one of the hardest things he’s ever done, leaving his entire family behind in difficult circumstances. But he had a chance they never got.
Even with everything he’s been through, my grandpa has always shown us gentle love. He paid for our birthday celebrations, took us out to eat, and would chase the ice cream truck just to surprise us.
I remember one day when two of my uncles got into a fight. It got heated, one was around 21 and the other was his older brother. My grandpa didn’t yell or lash out. Instead, he spoke with both of them separately. I remember hearing him say, “Ustedes son hermanos. You shouldn’t be fighting like this.” He wasn’t angry, just disappointed. The next day, we were all back at the table, eating brunch together. That’s who he is. He never lets conflict define the future.
As I get older, I realize how much wisdom comes from experience. You learn, you grow, you become more open-minded. My grandpa is the perfect example of that. He never loses a mind battle, and I admire that so much.
One of the most important things he ever taught me was:
“Nunca prometas algo si no sabes si lo vas a cumplir.”
Never promise something if you don’t know whether you can keep it.
That lesson has stuck with me.
Since I was young, my grandpa has been the one who kept our family close. If he hadn’t been kind enough to let us all squeeze into his home when we had nowhere to go, I honestly don’t know where I’d be. I owe him so much. And for that, I’m eternally, forever grateful.
