Luis Romero — My First Shoes

My childhood was a very poor one. We were 12 siblings and I had to start working as a child to help my mom. I bought my first shoes with the money I made carrying shopping bags in the market.

As I grew up I always tried to improve myself. I guarded parked cars at the movie theater and studied through the night after work. Then we jumped to this country.

My name is Luis Romero. I am from Honduras and my family has been here since 1990.
When I came to this country my mom was in the hospital, they discovered that she had cancer. She hung on for a while after getting out of the hospital. A year later she passed away.

I was not able to attend the funeral of my mom and my grandma… My grandma was like my second mom. I had to make the decision to stay because if I left the US, I ran the risk of being stuck in Honduras for good, but then leave my wife and children behind here in the US. Everything came with a cost.

There was an emotional cost on both sides. I couldn’t risk abandoning my family. If I had attended the funeral, perhaps my children wouldn’t be what they are today.

I am proud as I have wonderful children. One is an air traffic controller, a pilot, and was a navy officer. And my daughter is studying law in North Carolina.

My mother didn’t have money so she used to buy a 5-cent sausage and mix it into tortilla masa to make soup and with that, she fed us all. Now, sometimes when I go to Honduras, my sisters make that meal for me, this is when I realize how poor we were…

I am happy because I have learned to appreciate and get ahead in life. The best moments for me are every day. Because every day I wake up next to my wife. I look at my house, at everything I have accomplished, and then I sit down with a cup of coffee and I say:

“I am better off now”.