Hard Work is a Language Everyone Understands

If you ask an actor/actress or a successful entrepreneur/business owner what made them so successful, often times you’ll hear about their long days and late nights. They’ll tell you about their countless hours that they’ve put into their career and about the sheer hard work that they’ve had to do. Although my family is not filled with actors and actresses, we have been blessed with a man that has taught us about true hard work. I’ll always remember the stories my Pepere told me about growing up in Canada and moving to the United States. My Pepere, Roland, was born and raised in a small town in Canada. He was one of thirteen children growing up on a small, poor farm. His family never had much and they were by no means successful. They provided just enough to take care of their kids and that was it. My Pepere has always been a hard worker, from the time he was able-bodied, his father had him out on the farm, doing chores, sun up to sundown. My Pepere, or “Pep” for short has always told me that his father was not a sympathetic man. He was demanding, unforgiving, and he could not stand laziness. This meant that Pep had to work especially hard if he wanted to earn his place at the dinner table. He never got Christmas or Birthday presents and he rarely got new shoes or clothes. Pep decided to move to the United States when he was just sixteen. He had roughly fifty dollars and an old, beat up Chevy pick-up. He was homeless for quite a while when he arrived in the States and was eventually taken in by an old woman who happened to speak French. She told him that she would feed him and give him a bed if he did her work for her. Eventually, he found a job as a lumberjack and saved enough money to open his business. Despite his very basic understanding of English, Pepere has always been a hard worker and was very successful in his professional drywall career.

Now Pep is retired although he does continue to work just about every day, helping others when they need help. Pep has taught me what it truly means to be a hard worker. Being a hard worker means waking up early in the morning and going to work even when your body tells you not to. Being a hard worker means climbing up on the roof when it is ninety-five degrees out and finishing the job you started earlier in the week, when it wasn’t quite so hot. Although Pep is not the most sympathetic person I’ve ever met, his strong work ethic inspires me every day to be better. My Pepere’s belief in working hard resonates throughout my entire family. It drives me in everything I do, in every decision I make, and in my actions everyday.

I have a difficult time relating my situation to Vargas’ story. There are some moments that stick out to me in his passage. He says that he was so determined that he was American he would never give anybody a reason to doubt him. In some way I feel as though the same thing has happened to me, but in different context. For me, I’ve always tried to prove to my parents and especially my Pepere that I was a hard worker. This meant that I had to wake up at 6 am to go pull weeds out of the garden. I would do things that I was not comfortable with doing just to prove to my family that I was a hard worker. I’ve now discovered that there are other ways to prove to my family that I value hard work just as much as them. Yet some part of me always wants to work harder just for that extra bit of recognition. I think this is what Vargas felt like when people started to question if he was really American. Although he has always felt American, he felt that he had to work even harder to prove it.

Hard work is something that anyone can understand. Whether you are from the United States or Canada, hard work is appreciated everywhere. If there was any kind of tradition I would want to carry on in my family, it would be our tradition of hard work. My Pepere is the hardest working person I’ve ever known. Whenever somebody asks me who my biggest inspiration is, he will always be my first answer. His drive, his determination and his hard work keep my family driven, determined, and working hard.

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