The Tris Life For the Better

I see myself today as to be a person resilient from all that has passed during my childhood and teen life. I compare myself sometimes to Beatrice Prior, known as Tris, from the series Divergent. Why is that? She had to choose to continue to live at home or to just follow her instincts and go, rogue. Exactly. Tris had a choice and she chose to get out of her comfort zone and try something new. But, what she didn’t know was what she was getting herself into or what the future awaits.

At about 17 years ago, my mom decided to take a road trip to a place where she didn’t even know was like. At that time, we lived in Brazil, but my dad decided to follow his dream and move to the United States for work and left my mom there with three kids. On September 19th in 2001, my dad was supposed to travel, but after the attack of the twin towers, the airports were closed down for immigrants till further notice. Then, he received some good news for him and bad news for us. By December, he could travel to the US safe and get hyped into work. And there it goes. My dad left.

My mom scared with three kids to educate and take care of was feeling so lonely and decided to follow my dad’s path. Today, I would say it wasn’t a good choice, but it kind of made me who I am. So, my legal guardian tried to take me and my two sisters to the United States. There was just one problem. Getting the visa wasn’t easy so we had to go the way around. The worst and painful way: Mexico here we come!

My mom packed all our things and then got on a plane to Mexico. She hired a guy to help us out when we cross the border. When we arrived in Mexico, we stayed in a great hotel, but the only problem was the food. Spaghetti is spicy, the burrito is spicy, the rice is spicy. Everything was pretty much spicy and for a 6-year-old Brazilian girl, I wasn’t used to pepper. So, we kind of missed out the lunch and dinner time and just ate junk food. The worst is yet to come.

After almost 2 days in the hotel, my mom contacted the guy that was going to help us out and other families that were to cross the border, too. We packed our things and left to go meet the guy. We got there and it was almost dawn. This was mid-December and we were freezing. We went through all of this just to get in touch with my father again. The worst is yet to come. The adventure, the fear, the courage, was all my mom was feeling. That’s when I recognize that I was the daughter of a Tris, too. My mom did this for us, so she could reunite us with my dad and be a happy family that most kids dream of having.

When we got to the border, the families were all ready to trespass, but there was a slight problem. A river. There was a river to cross before entering the United States and the water was about 2 feet tall, lower than 0ºF, and pretty deep for 3 kids. My mom was really scared. Imagine carrying 3 kids (my older sister, 7, me, 6, and my little sister, 3 years old) so they won’t drown. It was tough for her. So she asked the man to carry one of us to help her cross the river and leave us on the other side. We couldn’t take the luggage because it was extra weight and the man didn’t want to carry anything else, so we left all our belongings in Mexico.

Finally, we got to the other side. We are in the United States! We walked to a bus stop so we can get a bus to the city that my dad was living. We were in New Mexico. But, after a few stops, some officers asked to stop the bus so they can check everyone who’s on it. We didn’t know English and that may have made our adventure way more difficult. Busted. The officers asked to see our passports and we didn’t have a visa. I wasn’t understanding anything, but I have flashbacks of every moment of those particular days. The officers asked to leave the bus and come with them and so we did.

My mom was so strong. She didn’t cry at any moment. It’s hard to talk about this experience. Gives me some memories I would never wish upon anyone. That’s why she’s the Tris in my life. The strong and fearless woman that would defend their ones at all times. The officers put us in his truck and took us to a police department where we stayed in a cell for almost 2 days. It was still December and cold. The cell was so cold that I couldn’t stop shivering. My little sister cried so much asking for food, but we didn’t know how to speak in English so my mom didn’t know how to ask for food. After a few hours, they came with a cold bread with ham and cheese.

We accepted the food, but my little sister wanted milk and the bread was so cold that we had no appetite to eat it. My mom said to eat it because it’s the only thing we have to eat at the moment. So, we did. The officer, later on, came to the cell to ask some questions and brought someone who spoke Spanish. My mom could understand it a little bit and answered some questions. It was night. We couldn’t sleep. There wasn’t enough blanket to keep us from the cold.

In the morning, they said we could call someone and because my mom was with 3 kids they let us go. My mom was praying so much in that little cell where there wasn’t even a bed, only the floors. They said we were free to enter the United States. This was the turning page of my life. I am not a poor kid that lived in Brazil anymore. It’s time to live the American Dream that we were waiting for. Dad, here we come.

They put us in the truck and left us at a nearby bus stop. We got on a bus and we were going to Georgia. Some people helped us with directions. I am grateful for the officers that let us go. Still today, I don’t know why they did that for us. The only thing I know is that if they didn’t I wouldn’t have lived the best moments in my life. Sometimes, I just think God puts some people in our lives just to make things better and that was one of those moments.

My mom was going through hell. The only thing she wanted was to protect us at any cost and not make us suffer like that with all the trouble to get there. She was relieved that everything worked well and they didn’t send us home. We got to Georgia and my dad was there waiting for us. He was a little worried if everything went fine because when my mom called him we were still there with the officers. We talked to my dad, hugged him and now we’re together.

Even though everything was falling apart, Tris never forgot her purpose and her family. She always at any cost tried to save her family and go through hell so that they will be safe. She did everything in her power so one day she could see her family reunited and safe. But, it didn’t go as planned. Her mom and dad died and her brother wasn’t exactly on her side at first. She fought for him and there they were. Together. Tris was a survivor. Tris would sacrifice herself to save the others around her. That’s my mom. The only problem is that I didn’t want that mom. I wanted a peaceful life where we could just live day after day with no diversions. I don’t blame her though.

Her actions, her beliefs, her will was the turning page of my life. If it wasn’t for her, I would never meet Micky Mouse at Disney. Go to school and learn English in a classroom full of American kids. Have fun at Chuckie Cheese. Swim at the beach and get a jellyfish sting. She made my life better. That’s why I am forever grateful for her actions. Some things need to happen so you can live better memories.