Core Memory of a Life Changing Experience
This whole experience has been life changing, and I am so thankful for all the people I have met while being here. I got placed with the Child Labor Coalition (CLC) where I learned that child labor normalized in my hometown is not okay, and that there are people looking out for us and trying to make a change that we do not yet see in a small rural town like Center, Colorado. I have had the opportunity to be interviewed by reporters about how I grew up, and it was my favorite thing to do at CLC. I was getting my name out there, my town, and my people. We are so much more than being twelve-year-old kids working in a field all day in summer. I reached out to congress about a bill the National Consumers League was trying to get passed regarding child labor, and I loved speaking to congresswomen and congressmen in the process.
NMSHSA became a family to me once I submitted my application. My favorite moment with them was the first lunch we had together during the Public Policy Forum where we got to meet everyone who has a part in NMSHSA. We only had that time during our internship to really meet and connect which made me feel like we were one big family. Everyone had such different personalities, it felt good to meet them individually and try new foods together. The first week in D.C. with NMSHSA made me feel like I wasn't alone, everyone was super easy to talk to. Hailey and I can't stop talking about Itzia or Aidan, and that if it wasn’t for that week, we wouldn't have ever met them.
This summer was different. I normally spend my summer working in the fields and sleeping a ton. Let’s say, it feels like I haven’t slept since I got here. My classmates Hailey and Deida have made this trip worth it. I can't choose one of our favorite moments because just being around them this summer was an adventure. In a way, I felt like they were my sisters because we learned how to read each other from spending so much time together. If one of us were mad or irritated, we all knew because that's how much time we got to spend with each other. I created core memories here that now I get to take home.