leaving to learn

By Maridel De Los Reyes

When she was young, Anayeli Perez, also known as Ana, moved from Mexico to the United States. While learning a new language and adapting were both very difficult, being separated from her mother and father helped her learn about what was most important to her, family.

At a young age, Anayeli’s father was deported from the States, and her whole family followed suit. However, Anayeli wanted a better education and returned to America in 6th grade with her godparents.

Moving was extremely difficult for Anayeli, and being separated from her family took a toll on her mental health: “At first, it was really sad, I think I had kind of depression for the first few weeks, because it was different, just not the same.”

Anayeli found that reading books and playing soccer helped momentarily distract her from her problems. Scoring goals and helping the team helped her forget and feel like she was a part of something bigger.

She had good friends, but there was something different about her biological family. She found herself missing her mother and the simple moments they shared, like having her hair brushed. Her godparents are like family to her but she always makes sure to keep in contact with her sister. No one can give her a good laugh like her: “...we talk, we talk about anything, we just laugh about anything, we say a random thing and we laugh.”

She makes sure to keep close contact with her mother: “It’s hard to keep in touch with her sometimes because she’s in Mexico but I call her everyday.” While she misses her family, she treasures the memories she has of everyone together.

Over the years, Ana has realized that family is what truly matters to her in life: “My family, I think it's the most important thing in my life. I don’t care about having money, nice things, I just don’t care.” She knows that there will always be difficulties up ahead, the road won’t always be smooth, but she knows she has her family, she’ll get through it.