Mis hermanos. We are adults now, but I often reflect on our time spent living together under one roof as children. Denied the childhood home often attached to the idyllic American Dream, our situation forced us to move constantly. No living situation was ever permanent, so we knew many homes. So many, it’s impossible to label any single physical structure we temporarily resided in as a true “home.” But it made no difference. To me, home was never a physical space. “Home” was anytime that we were together. It was playing sports outdoors past sunset. Cartoons together before and after school. Beatdowns on Nintendo64 & being the test dummy for countless WWE finishers. Home was anywhere my older brothers were.
Yes, we lacked stability in housing, but the foundation that held us together was unyielding. A foundation that remains the same today as grown men. It’s odd to think that some of my most cherished memories occurred at a time when, in terms of opportunity and material possession, we had so little. But it's because of you two that I can look back on these moments with great fondness and feel as if I had the world. I owe much of who I am to the both of you. Amid the turbulent waters & the constraints of our situation, you have always been there. Keeping my ship afloat and on course; providing guidance and protection. Never did we allow our undocumented status to disrupt our brotherhood, in fact it only made us closer. You’ve seen what I have seen. Felt what I have felt. You are an extension of me.
Together, we’ve rejected the unfortunate hand we were dealt & broken through the limitations imposed upon us. Our enormous potential could only be confined for so long and seeing the men that you have both developed into fills me with a pride I cannot properly describe. It’s one of my greatest joys to continue sharing this bond and this life with the both of you.
Los amo por siempre.
-Your stubborn little brother
