Everyone has a destiny. Some people’s destiny is better or worse than others but it’s not a choice they made it just happens. This is the beginning of my grandmother’s life story. Her full name is Placida Margarita Mendez Vidal. My grandma had a tough time growing up because she didn't have riches or things we have today.
My grandmother was born on February 19, 1936 in a small pueblito called “San Vicente Del Palmar” Which is in Oaxaca,Mexico. The pueblito had 30 to 40 people and they all practically knew each other since they were born. She wasn't born in hospital like many of us were born in because it was only a few people. Why have a big hospital for only 30 to 40 people? She was born in her house that she grew up in. Her parents were Francisco Mendez Lopes and Amelia Eliza Del Carmen Vidal Velasquez. My grandmother had 7 siblings. Two of them died when they were babies and one of her sister’s then died at the age of 18 or 20 which just left 4 of them. She’s the oldest of all 4 of her siblings. When she was 1 year old she moved in with her grandparents Marselino Vidal and Rosa Velasquez. Her grandparents took her in because her parents didn't have the money to feed her and they said they would take my grandmother in and raise her and take care of her on the ranch they lived on. Her mother and father were really sad about letting her go but it was for the good of their daughter. She didn't go to school or have an education because school costed money and she didn't have the money to afford to go to school. Her grandparents showed her how to work and harvest plants in the ranch she grew up in. At the age of 6 my grandma was taking care of 35 cows just on her own. She didn't have a lot of clothing she only had one dress that she would use every single day until it wore out and she had to get a new one. She also didn't wear any shoes because they were unaffordable and too expensive. My grandma would sometimes make sandals out of palm leaves and she would wear those until they wore out and she would then make new ones. At the age of 12 she had to say goodbye to both her grandparents and move out of the ranch she grew up in and went to go move back in with her parents. My grandma had many jobs. In one of her jobs when she was 14 she had to take care of some lady’s baby in the middle of the night and had to make sure the baby didn't cry. The baby she cared for would stay up till 4 in the morning once the baby fell asleep my grandma would get little rest because once it was 5 in the morning she had to get up again and go to another job. During those times she had very little sleep. As the years passed by she had to do this to make a living or she wouldn't have anything to eat. During those years my grandpa liked my grandma and would ask her out on dates but my grandma refused to go out with him because she was too busy to date anyone. My grandpa took 3 years asking her out until she finally said yes. After 2 years of dating my grandma and grandpa eloped. My grandmother was only 17 when that happened.
Well that's the end of the beginning of my grandmother’s life story.
I decided to write about my grandmother’s life story because she’s an inspiration to me and I look up to her because she showed me that in her life it wasn't easy and many people don’t have it easy but they find a way to make it through.