My parents came from Mexico, at different times in their lives. My grandfather brought my mom as a little girl, along with her family to Springfield, Illinois from Juarez, after starting a successful drywall business. My dad travelled from Mexico City to pursue better opportunities, and originally crossed the border into the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant. He eventually met my mom at a dance, common for latinx immigrants, and they married and had me! He became a citizen when I was 6, and because of them I was able to follow my dreams, and attend an Ivy League university as a first-generation college student.