Hi, my name is José A. Rodríguez and I would like to write about mi vida (my life). In writing about it, some of you may see your own reflected. At the end of the day, I feel that many of us are pretty much the same and we’re a lot more the same than we are different.

Soy Yo (This Is Me)
I was born in Detroit and proudly wear The Old English D. I lived In Southwest Detroit for a few years until we moved out before I started kindergarten. At that time, I spoke no English. While my dad worked, my Spanish-speaking mom raised me. Imagine having to learn to read, write and tie my shoes, all while learning English. I joke about how it was a miracle that I passed. Thank God that there were two Spanish-speaking girls in my class. They were a true godsend. To this day, I remember their names. I am still friends with one of them.

The K-8 that I attended was great in so many ways. First, the education was amazing. Also, I was able to meet kids from all over: Detroit and the nearby downriver communities. This exposed me to people from various cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. We were all different, but it wasn’t a “thing.” The kids LOVED my mom’s burritos. For me, it was the currency to trade for other food (in the ‘80s, before food allergies became an issue). My first taste of Miracle Whip was when I traded for a classmate’s tuna salad sandwich.

As with many here in the Metro Detroit area, my dad worked for The Big Three. He was blessed with a trade school education in Mexico that provided him the background to get his foot in the door. Thanks to a neighbor that was able to get my dad in. He put my mom through school first, who could only go part-time, since she took care of my brothers and I. In fact, my mom was the first to get a college degree in my immediate family. My dad sacrificed to pay for 12 years of private education for my brothers and I, as well as for some of our college education.

When I say sacrifice, it’s no exaggeration. After my dad retired, he told me a story about a conversation that he had with a co-worker. The exchange went a little like this,

Other Guy: Rodriguez, aren’t you eligible for retirement?
My Dad: Yes.
Other Guy: So why are you still working?
My Dad: Are you going to put my kids through school?
Other Guy: ….

Bien Hecho (Well Done)
That I can recall, my dad never sat me down to teach “life lessons.” One of his indirect lessons was setting a clear example regarding doing something right the first time. When I was a kid, I used to detest mowing the lawn. To get out of it, I would mess up, so that my dad would come out. It took thirty more years of life experience and having my own son for me to better understand this lesson.

When I have participated in chats on social media with first-generation individuals like me, there is a common thread in those conversations filled with nostalgic memories of our respective childhoods. Many talked about the pride that our parents had in hard work: but not just in hard work, but of hard work done well. Now that I have my own son, I constantly reinforce the importance of doing a good job the first time. It saves the trouble of wasting time to fix something that should have already been finished. Now, nothing irks me more than shoddy work.

Orgullo (Pride)
Similar to how my dad never sat me down to tell me about doing a good job the first time, neither parent sat down to teach me about having pride in who I am and where I come from. For example, in no specific order, I am proud of being born in Detroit, my parents’ Mexican origin, being American by birth and having a strong affection for the Mexican fields that some of my family still works. For me, each of these are important parts that define my overall identity.

A long time ago, a former co-worker commented about some of my contradictions. On one hand, there are certain things that are so “Mexican” including my love for certain foods and still speaking Spanish (true about me, but not a qualification), but, then, there are certain things that are so “American” including my deep love for rock music, especially hard rock and heavy metal. That eclectic potpourri of elements is undeniably me.

Mi Esperanza (My Hope)
For over a year, I have been blogging on DE(LIBERATE). It was there that I was able to re-establish my writing chops and to start developing some of my ideas. However, it is here that I hope to distill them even further and deliver them to newer audiences. Some of them that were first discussed in my debut post, “Hello World,” and seem even more applicable now.

They include:

Humbly admitting what we don’t know
Identifying the “dots” that we need to connect
Constantly questioning and re-evaluating our thoughts and beliefs to see if they are still factually correct, applicable and relevant

In writing these posts, I want to provide a place, where people who feel alone and disconnected can see that this isn’t the case. I want to provide a place, where we can discuss the things that people don’t say perhaps from fear or from the mistaken notion that they’re “the only ones.” Maybe, after reading a bit, you, readers, will say to yourselves, “Esta es mi vida también” (This is my life, too)!

Así Que Ahora (So Now…)
So now that I’ve taken some time to introduce myself a bit, I invite you to join this journey. Also, I offer this space for you to explore yourself within the context of some of the ideas that I discuss. In addition, I invite you to discuss these ideas on here, on my social media or, if you wish, privately but without feelings of any judgment. I just feel that, within ourselves and the world around us, there is change not yet achieved, which can help us move a few more steps forward. I like to think that, at the end of the day, we want to know that we’re a little bit better and have moved a little more forward.

Esta es mi vida. Esta es tu vida. (This is my life. This is your life).

Be sure to follow me at The Jose Rodriguez (Facebook), The Jose Rodriguez (Twitter) or The Jose Rodriguez (Instagram).

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