It all starts early on Sunday morning when I wake up to the sound of my alarm going off at 4 a.m. I wake up groggy, trying to gather my thoughts and get up to get ready for work. When I’m ready, I get the tools into the truck and make sure I’m bringing my food and water from home. And off I go to work with my stepdad. 

While many teens can relax over the weekend, this is my weekend schedule. 

One morning, as I was doing my typical routine, I took the time to think about the things I had to do: What am I going to do after work? What homework do I have to finish? At that moment, I knew I had to work on how to balance work and school. 

This might seem like a lot of work to some teenagers, but to me and my family, this is normal. We come from a Mexican background where we value hard work. Knowing this helped me think and change as a person to better understand who I am and where I come from. I learned how to deal with problems and how to balance work and school. I know that school is an important part of my life and is going to play a big role in my future. I am still working to prove to my parents that I’m a hard worker. I’ve heard so many stories from my dad about his work ethic. I know where I come from and have my stepdad as an amazing role model. 

From him, I learned to change as a person and grow up. Before, I was a shy kid not trying to do anything. Now, I have a better work ethic both in school and in a job. I’m learning better communication skills and also better time management for school work and for life. 

This was created as part of a podcast series by Richmond High School student media.