Served 6 years in jail.. - Page 2

hay porque!

Don't think of those years as wasted. If anything, everyone else's 20~25 years are wasted on drinking and partying and god knows what else - I see them every time I work the night shifts, and it's nothing to be envious about.

You know that abject feeling of hopelessness that literally feels like the ground is dragging your feet down to the abyss? You had that for 5+ years. Only the DREAMers your age went through something like that. Experiences like that builds character. It gives you coping ability. It gives you patience. It gives you endurance. It matures you and gives you wisdom far, far beyond your years. As the old Korean saying goes, "A young man ought to pay money to experience hardship."

I am kicking ass in my new job because literally every single day I work is a result of a jaw-dropping miracle that popped out of nowhere. To me, Mondays are incredible because I used to dream about having a legitimate, tax-paying job and going to work (in my car, no less!) on Mondays. Literally no one is more motivated than me at my workplace. That's the kind of advantage and power that we all got by going through the soul-crushing experience of being undocumented and seeing our friends and peers pass us by.

But you know what? When you're in your 40s and look back, those years "wasted" are going to look insignificant. What will be significant is all the lessons you learned about yourself. All the strength that you built during these tough times... are going to pay off. Big time.

So chin up, brother. It's not going to be okay from now on. It's going to be fucking amazing.