Success Speaks Many Languages

When talking about New York, I can think of so many places to showcase but, I always go back to the Bronx and Yonkers as these places tell the story of how my mom, an immigrant living in New York, got to rise above the odds. I can dive straight into it, but I think we should start where it all started and how Ecuador and New York are very important places in this story. I would also like to start telling a bit of a background about my mom.

A recent photo of Judith Garcia in one of her houses

If there’s a certain word to describe Judith, it would be strong and hardworking. If you would ask the people around her, especially her children, one thing is common, she’s a strong female figure that defied all odds that were presented to her. Judith is an immigrant to the US, she immigrated in the country at the early age of 16 and has been living in the US since.

When asked how long, she was very coy about it as it would reveal her exact age“I’ve been living in the New York since I was 16 years old and I’m already close to 50 but, I’m not gonna say exactly how old I ‘am but, I’m close to 50 years old.” She also mentioned that she’s been living in the state more than she lived in her country, Ecuador.

When asked about how it is living in New York, she said that it is very happy as she believed and is believing still that it is the land of opportunities as she was able to establish her career as an Educator.Judith is currently a Spanish teacher at a middle school in Yonkers.“I’m very happy that I was able to come to New York because it’s the land of opportunities and I was able to establish my career as an educator and I’m very proud of all the things I have achieved in New York.”

Judith at work and with her students in Pearls Middle School

“I came from a very loving family with a lot of values, poor but happy that we got each other and I’m very proud of my roots.”

Judith with her family and relatives in her hometown

Talking about her life Ecuador, you can sense that she’s very proud of her roots and the country where she was originally from. However, she also talked about how the life she grew up in Ecuador was very different to the life she’s living in New York. She begins by saying that the life she had in Ecuador was hard as she came from a poor family. Judith is the eldest among the three siblings, her mother had her when she was only 17 years old and had to raise all of them on her own without getting help from the government.

Judith and her siblings with their mom, Guayaquil, Ecuador

“She had me when she was only 17 years old, so she was a very young mother with three kids, divorced, in a country where the government doesn’t help you in any way, no welfare, no nothing, no help financially. So, she had to work hard for the three of us.”

The opportunity to come to New York was presented to her mother when she was only ten and had to leave her children behind “When my mom had the opportunity to come to New York, I was 10 years old, she came by herself, and she left us behind, the three of us, those were the circumstances.” When asked about how she felt when her mother broke the news, Judith said that she had mixed feelings, a mix of sadness and hope as she was scared that she wouldn’t be able to see her mom again or for how long, but, at the same time, she was full of hope hearing about the opportunities of going to New York.  No matter how sad and confusing it was for the young Judith to get separated, she said that it was a great decision made by her mom.“I’m very happy that she made that move because 6 years later we reunited, and she was able to bring us to New York and here we are very successful- the three of us successful in our lives in New York.” Hearing her talk about it was very touching and inspiring as she said that it is because she believed in the American dream.

Judith and her siblings with their business friends

“Coming here was much better in terms of quality of life and it’s easier to adjust with a quality of life like this. Easier.” Her life in New York began at the Bronx as this is where her mother lived when she immigrated from Ecuador. Judith lived in the Bronx for 5 years, she still vividly remembers the first time she got here, and you can still definitely feel her excitement, it was like seeing the 16-year old Judith again “I remember coming here for the first time and opening the fridge with everything possible- juice, milk, eggs, meat. It was for me like ‘Oh my gosh!’ something that I’ve never ever experienced in my country. Having my own room, finally! Where in Ecuador, we all shared a room, we all sleep together in the same room.” Having said that, it was no easy feat coming to New York, Judith had her struggles. One is the spoken language, learning the language at the age of 16 was not easy and being an 11th grade student, it was hard for her to be put in a classroom not knowing and not speaking a word in English.

Graduation photo of Judith in Hunter College

“I’m going to be honest, there were times that I felt returning to my country because I felt that I was never going to learn the language and I was not gonna be able to achieve the dreams that I had- of becoming a professional and making a good life here. So, there were times that I was about to quit and asked my mother to please send me back to my country.” Judith persevered and is thankful to the teachers that advised her mother to not send her back as they believed that she would learn the language with their guidance and practice. Hearing this story was heart-wrenching because it really speaks the struggle of most immigrants whose first language is not English.

No matter how rough the start was, New York was her dream place to live in she was ecstatic to say that it is her dream place “I think it’s everyone’s dream to live and come to New York. This is where the opportunities are, the job opportunities and once you make it here then you can make it anywhere. So, for me, New York is the place to live.”

Judith touring Times Square with her family and relatives

Judith is now living in Yonkers with her beautiful children and is happily married to a loving man. This is the place where she got to fulfill most of her dream, this is also the place where she was able to have a family and houses. She got married during her early 20s and Yonkers was the place where she started building the future for her family life.

Judith during her wedding day and her with her family

After living for how many years in New York, Judith can confidently say that she is living the American dream and is a living proof of the American dream fulfilled. She said that she’s living the dream as she was able to achieve all the dreams that she had when she moved to New York “I can absolutely say that I achieved the American dream number one, I was able to become a professional, an educator, and (I) have a very satisfying career. I own not only one home, but I’m also the owner of 4 different homes, 2 in New York, 1 in Puerto Rico and 1 in Delaware. And uhm… I have a great family, I have my husband, my two children whom I love dearly. They are great kids and what else can I ask life for?”

Judith traveling the world with her kids

The last line got stuck with me as that’s how Judith ended that interview, with so much pride and joy regardless of the hurdles and struggles she has been through. To everyone that will read this, I hope you get some sort of comfort knowing that you, too, can make it and know that things do get better.