My Family and Me

Since this is my first blog, I think I should tell everyone a little bit about me.

My name is Maria Fernanda Ruiz-Pineda, but most of my friends call me Marifer. And family is the most important thing in my life. I am an only child and sometimes when I was little I was kind of lonely. But thank goodness I had my two cousins,Tury and Alex, who honestly weren't my cousins, but my brothers. Tury is six years older than me, and he was always the brother that I looked up to. He just always seemed so big, and powerful. He always knew how to have fun and make us laugh. Now, my other brother is only six months older than me, and we have shared everything. Luckily, being the same age made us spend so much time together, and even though we fought many many times, he has always been there for me. In second grade especially, when I went to an American school for the first time, not knowing any English, Alex was there for me. We were in the same class, and he was my personal translator, the one who really helped me out. That year was very tough for me, and if it wasn't for him, I don't know how I would've survived. My grandma, Mama Tere, is also a person that I cannot imagine my life without. She watched me grow up, and always tried to do what was best for me, I love her, and words cannot describe the wonderful person she is. And last but not least, are my parents. Although, they don't always give me my way, or understand me, I know that they are just trying to do their best. My dad is a very smart man, and I have always looked up to him. Sometimes he can be really straightforward and kind of mean, but I know he always loves me. As for my mom, I am very close to my mom. She is truly my best friend because I know she loves me, and that the advice she gives me is always in my best interest. I know I can tell her anything.

My family has had to move around a few times. For my first three and a half years of life I lived in Cd. Juarez, Mexico. And when I was three my family had to move to Portugal because of my dad's job. We lived there for about two years, but it was the toughest time of my short life because I was away from the rest of my family. I would cry everyday when I could not talk to the other little kids because the language was such a huge barrier. But after a few grueling months when I finally got the hang of the language, we moved back to Cd. Juarez for one year, where I was in first grade, which was so great because I was finally able to be with my whole family. But for second grade, we moved once again, but this time to El Paso, Texas, where I was enrolled in the same school, and same class as my brother Alex.

From that time on, I have not moved anymore and El Paso, Texas has been my home. I finished elementary, middle, and high school here and now I will be going on to college. I plan to finish within three years, and go on to my graduate school. But regarding what I am going to study, I don't know. I have gone through many phases of what I wanted to do when I grew up. I remember I used to aspire to be a waitress. It just seemed so cool because you were always walking around and talking to people, but then again, that was the only job I knew about when I was little. Then i wanted to be a veterinarian. It was my dream job! I mean, who wouldn't want to be taking care of cute little animals the whole day? But then tragedy struck when my mom got me my first two dogs, as I found out I was allergic to them. So that went out the window! From there I went crazy, thinking of so many careers from being a famous actress to working for the CIA. And it's kind of funny and kind of sad, but I still don't know what I want to do. But one thing is for sure, no matter what I decide to be, I know my family will always be there to celebrate my triumphs, and to support me when I need them the most. My family, my familia, are the group of people that I know I can count on. And who will love me forever, no matter what.