The summer after my high school graduation, no one had heard from my dad for days. My grandmother woke me up with some eerily familiar news that had changed my life once before, “Your father is dead.” Having already experienced the loss of my mother a few years prior, I once again had to face another devastating reality but this time it was my father. However, I was no longer a twelve-year-old girl struggling to understand death. I was eighteen, old enough to grasp the full meaning of loss, and understood that the future I had been working toward was about to change. At the time, I had been working a full-time job to save money for college, never expecting that those savings would be needed to help bury my father. My father, an undocumented immigrant, had no life insurance coverage and the consequences extended far beyond him. His absence took a severe financial toll on my grandmother who worked two full-time jobs and still wasn’t able to afford funeral expenses. Witnessing her struggle to pay for costs led me to take on an additional full-time job to contribute to household bills while organizing fundraisers such as food sales, yard sales, and a GoFundMe Page to gather donations. This led to the realization that if my father had life insurance, my grandma and I could have focused on healing instead of scrambling for resources. Had I not worked a second job, I would’ve taken advantage of opportunities in the summer such as attending a Summer Bridge program to familiarize myself with campus and spend more time with my loved ones.
After the funeral, I realized I had suppressed my emotions, but they crept up a week before moving into my college dorm. I was emotionally and physically exhausted; I regretted choosing my dream school which was far from my grandma, who still needed support. To ease my worry, I had given my grandma the rest of my savings, but depression lingered throughout my first semester. The loss of my father left me in a spiral and it had a significant impact on my grades.
After reaching out to long-term therapists, I saw improvement in my mental health and grades. I realized that although losing both my parents was difficult, this experience was a firsthand insight into the devastating consequences of financial unpreparedness. I am determined to break the cycle by setting aside money in case of emergencies and reinforcing the importance of having life insurance for my family and myself. Utilizing my earnings from my current job, I opened up a savings account serving as an emergency fund in case any situations, such as these, come up. As an intended economics major at UC Berkeley, I hope to pursue a career in accounting to help others understand their financial circumstances and promote financial literacy in marginalized communities. Because of my loss, I remain committed to honoring my parent’s memory by achieving my academic goals and providing a better future for my family and myself.
