Meet Jesus: Week One

October 15, 2009 by The Children of Immokalee to TIF Students: Jesus

Every summer, TIF watches students graduate high school and prepare for the next step in their education. For Jesus, that next step is college. This Take Stock in Children alum is currently a freshman at Florida Gulf Coast University. (In his latest note to us, he wrote, “College is AMAZING! Things are going great for me! I love it!”)

Between graduating from Immokalee High School and beginning his freshman year of college, Jesus spent the summer with his family, who work as migrant farmhands — an occupation and lifestyle common among residents of Immokalee. Each day, Jesus took a minute or two to tell us about his summer experiences.

Monday, June 8, 2009
9:10 p.m.

We arrived in Bainbridge, Georgia, around 6 a.m. this morning and right now as I'm typing this my eyes burn from exhaustion and sleepiness. I drove a vehicle from our home and the journey lasted eight hours. My family and I are searching for a place to stay and we haven't been too successful in our search.

Monday, June 8, 2009
4:37 p.m.

Today has been a pretty long day and it's not even over yet. I feel extremely exhausted. I'm sitting down on a bench inside of a Wal-Mart Store and I have a cart full of groceries next to me. Every year that we travel to Georgia I feel like I'm starting anew. This morning I had to unload tons of luggage that came up with my family and I. My dad was off working and my mom was busy cleaning the dirty home that we would be staying in for a month and a half. Now we’re buying groceries. All these things make me think of how bad I wish I was back in Florida, in the comfort of a settled home — one that had everything we needed. But I've grown somewhat accustomed to this lifestyle. There’s really no room for complaints when this occupation puts food on the table for five. The real work for me begins bright and early tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. sharp.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009
10:53 p.m.

Today wasn't as hard of a work day as I thought. My father was kind enough to let me sleep in until 11 a.m. and it felt like the weekend almost. After waking up I headed to the farm and started selling beverages and food. My mom wakes up early in the morning every day to prepare food that she can sell in the tomato fields to help make some extra money. Most of the time she cooks and I go sell it. We don't earn much more but it helps in the long run and goes toward paying another bill. Seeing my mother wake up so early every day motivates me even more to further my education so one day I can help her and the rest of my family. I don't want my mom to continue this kind of labor until retirement age. I'd rather her have the luxury of waking up when she wants and not have to stress about how she's going to pay next month's set of bills or how she's going to buy groceries. I am really happy that my parents instilled in me since a young age that education is important because I know they didn't want me to continue in the fields once I got older.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009
1:00 p.m.

Wow! It's already 1 a.m.! I'm barely arriving home and I've lost track of the time! When you're in the fields you rarely pay attention to the time. Especially when you're occupied doing something. Man, time really is going by fast. It seems like just yesterday I was graduating from high school. The summer will be the same way. Soon I'll be walking onto the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University as a freshman! I'm so excited for college and all the amazing opportunities that await me. I don't know where I'd be right now if my parents hadn't have pushed me to excel in school. I might not have even graduated if I wasn't so focused and motivated in school. I can only go up from here and I know it's going to be a really bumpy ride, but with the help of some people along the way I know I'll succeed in accomplishing my dreams.

Thursday, June 11, 2009
9:22 p.m.

Surprise, surprise! I'm home before midnight! I'm so happy we finished early today. I'm hoping to catch up on some things here at home. I need to get onto the Internet and make sure everything is settled for college. I need to make sure I'm not missing any documents. I'm also going to play around and learn more about my computer! [Jesus was among a handful of outstanding students awarded computers by TIF at the end of their senior year.]

Friday, June 12, 2009
12:00 p.m.

Well today was a pretty normal day: I woke up at 11 a.m. and headed to the fields to sell more food and got home not too long ago. Tomorrow we aren't working and that’s awesome news. I think I'll be heading to Tallahassee, Florida, to buy groceries since it's only 40 minutes away from where I stay here in Bainbridge, Georgia. I can't believe it's already the 12th of July. It seems like just yesterday I was entering Immokalee High as a senior and now I graduated and I'll be starting college soon. It all went by so fast and I'm sure my summer is going to finish quick too. I'm going to miss being at home even though I'll only be 40 minutes away. My family really means so much to me and it's going to be a big change that I'll have to adjust to since we're all pretty close in our family. But the change will be for the better. I really want and need to further my education so my parents can stop working so hard. I admire that eagerness to work that my parents share, but their line of work is so difficult and I wish they could have it easier. Yet I know that one day soon they will have a much better lifestyle.

Saturday, June 13, 2009
6:00 p.m.

YES! Can you believe it! It's 6 p.m. and I'm home! What a miracle! I love getting the day off or getting off early...well, I mean, who doesn't? It gives me time to relax and be lazy for once. My family and I are always so busy in the fields and we're separated doing different tasks and we finally get a day to spend some time together and talk. Since graduation all my family and I talk about is college and how we're all going to have to adjust. I'm always off with my parents helping them during my summers and throughout the school year, but now my parents are realizing they're going to have to find someone else who can help them. They know I have to focus and concentrate on furthering my education and that’s my main goal. My parents sacrificed so much for my siblings and I to move forward in life and I'm the first to leave the nest as well as continue setting the example for my two sisters who are 16 and three years old. I know it'll be a bumpy ride, but with my family as motivation as well as a bunch of other things, I know I'mma make it. :)