A man who’s always wearing old raggedy paint clothes and works himself to the point where he’s exhausted  is the same man that’s most important to me. He’s as annoying as can be sometimes, and we don’t always get along but when it comes down to it I know I can always count on my dad for anything i need. Throughout his life he has faced numerous challenges that I can’t imagine how hard they were to conquer, but he never let any of them hold him back. These incidents are why he’s the man he is the today. He is the most caring, loving, and generous guy I know, and I’m proud to say he’s my Dad.

While driving his Cadillac the other day the car in which he loves like a child, he begins to tell me “One thing I can say is when they tell you you’ll treat your kids the way you got treated it’s not true, I never treated my kids the way I got treated.” Growing up poor in a family of 17 with his mother, 8 sisters, and 7 brothers is hard enough as it is and yet it still got worst for him. He tells me stories of how he would get “beaten” by his step dad everyday, and how he would sometimes have to wait until 1 or 2 in the morning to eat because that’s when his step dad said he could. I’m unsure about whether or not my grandma knew about or if she did know about it if she did anything about it. My dad never got much into detail about it because he doesn’t like thinking about it, and I don’t blame him. Although he did have a tough childhood he does remember some good times, he told me stories of how his real dad who left because of a divorce would pick him up, go buy him toys, and would take him places he normally wouldn’t have the chance to go to. Even though his step father was horrible to him he explains that he doesn’t hate him.

Hating people is actually a conversation we’ve had multiple times. One day I asked why he always says not to hate anyone. His response was “ Because no matter what they do to you or if they don’t like you that doesn’t mean you don’t have to not like them, you ain’t suppose to hate no one. I’m trying to teach you better than other people.” Even then when he was having a serious conversation with me he still found a way to be funny and positive. He said “ I do hate cockroaches and flies though.” This made me laugh, and I love that he can always make me laugh no matter what the situation is. He’s always trying to stay positive.I think my dad’s positive attitude has helped my family a lot throughout the years. Years ago around 2009 he got laid off  from his job of being a painter. My family could no longer live the way we were used to living we couldn’t go out and spend a bunch of money anymore, we were on a tight budget. However, he continued painting, he was determined to start his own business called Ray’s Painting. He has accomplished his business with the help of my uncles and cousins. Because they help him all the time, they are his workers in a way. Each one of them has their specialties, for instance my cousin Michael is really good at putting tiles down so whenever my dad  needs tiles done he calls him.  Since he decided he wanted to make his own business, he has worked all around Chicago painting houses big and small to the point where he has worked so much you see paint all throughout his hair making him look like an old man turning his whole head gray. There has even been times where I wouldn’t see him all day because he was working so much, but I’m glad that happened because when he was working that much you saw a great change in my family. Everybody was happier and it was all because of my dad and his success.