Becoming Violet

The First Goodbye

A little girl began her story in a small city in Guatemala, surrounded by a family that seemed full of love… or at least that was what she believed.

Her name was Violet. She was born on November 3rd at 11:56 a.m., on a cold day that marked the beginning of a life filled with love, challenges, and memories she would never forget.

But the person telling this story is not a stranger watching from the outside. The person telling this story is that little girl herself.

Life brings difficult moments to everyone, even to young children. And this is where my story begins — when I was only four years old.

At that age, everything felt perfect. I was an only child, surrounded by people who loved me and cared for me. Because when you’re a kid, it feels like everyone loves you. I loved life. Everyone looked out for me and made sure I was okay.

My mom, though, was barely home. I spent a lot of time alone with my dad. We would eat arroz con frijol (rice and beans) or frijol con arroz (beans and rice). It was a little joke we had. Whenever someone asked me what my dad made for food, I would always answer with one of those.

I used to spend quite a lot of time with my dad’s family too. I had fun with them, but as I grew older, I started noticing things. I felt like they never really liked me the same way they liked my other cousins. Even though they showed favoritism, I still enjoyed the moments I shared with them. To this day, I don’t really let it bother me.

My mom’s side of the family was different. They really loved me. My grandparents would give me a lot of things, and so would my uncle. At the time, I was the only kid in the family, so they didn’t have anyone else to spoil. I was always grateful and rarely asked for things.

As I got older, I started spending more time with my mom’s side of the family, and I began showing favoritism toward them. Looking back, I know I should have thought more about other people’s feelings and how my dad felt about it. At the same time, I also started showing favoritism toward my dad because we spent so much time together.

My mom seemed hurt by that, so I tried to become a better daughter. But the truth is, I couldn’t be perfect. I was just a kid trying to understand everything around me.

I also had a disease that caused me to spend a lot of my childhood in hospitals. My dad spent so much time with me there. He would barely sleep because he wanted to make sure I was okay. When I was asleep, I would sometimes pull out my IVs and other things without realizing it, so he stayed awake to watch over me.

I am really grateful for everything he did for me.

Over time, my parents planned to bring me to the United States so I could receive better treatment. But when I was seven years old, I was admitted into intensive care, and those plans changed.

During my stay in intensive care, my mom was pregnant with my sister and living in the United States. I went through some painful moments during that time and saw things that I probably shouldn’t have had to see as a child.

After that, we moved to the United States. My mom had my sister in Tennessee while my dad was still in Guatemala. Eventually he moved to the United States while I started my treatment in Tennessee, and slowly, I got better.

Eventually, we moved to where one of my uncles lived. I didn’t know it at the time, but that move would change my life forever.

Leaving Guatemala meant leaving behind everything I knew — my family, my home, and the life I had grown up with. I was entering a new country, a new environment, and a new chapter of my story.

I didn’t know what was waiting for me in the United States, but I was about to find out.