Sometimes, life can seem pretty darn difficult.

What’s one of the saddest moments in your life?
“Losing my tía, my aunt. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2012. She fought it and beat it. It was a good six months where she was in the clear, and then it came back to her lungs and later it moved to her brain. She went pretty far with the clinical trial before we lost her. When she was coming down to Houston for treatment I really got to know her. Losing her was really hard.”

What’s your biggest challenge right now?
“Paying for school. It’s not the community college part that I’m in right now. It’s more looking toward transferring. I’ve applied for five scholarships so far, so I’m hoping I’ll get something. I might have to get a loan, but I don’t want to get too deep into debt.”

Despite life’s complications, he has an easy smile, optimistic outlook and simple dream. “I would like to get a nice car, settle down, have a nice house and spend time with my family.”

— Gabriel Garza

The post He’s facing life’s challenges, one at a time appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I grew up in Elgin, Oregon, way up in the hills and the mountains. I was a farmer’s daughter. We were what they called shoestring farmers. We didn’t make very much money. You lived year to year. Three bad years would break you.

“We didn’t have any electricity until I was 9 years old, so we did everything the old-fashioned way. We lived off the land. It was a hard life, but it was the best life that I could have ever had.

“One of the things my parents taught me was to be optimistic and hope for a better day. Farmers are always hoping. They’re hoping it’s going to rain and then they’re hoping it’s not going to rain because they need to get the wheat or the hay in.

“Probably the most important thing I ever got from my parents was the concept of hard work. They taught me how to work with my hands, which is something I was able to do for years. I think that was the best gift of all.”

— Betsy Wheeler

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