From a young age until right now at twenty years old, I have always had a deep admiration for my dad. I have always looked up to his work ethic, his commitment, his love for my mom, his strength, and so much more. I know that not everyone has a reliable and strong father that was able to teach them what a father should, so I want to share three things that I have learned from my dad in my life.

The first thing that I have learned from my dad is that no matter where you come from, you can work hard and reach big goals that you have. My dad's parents were both immigrants from Cuba. His father died when he was three years old and from then he was raised in Miami by a single mom, and he had four siblings. He did not have a lot of money or by any means an easy life growing up. However, he worked as hard as he possibly could with the dream of becoming a doctor. And he did it. To this day, he works incredibly hard every day and has for the last thirty years so that he could provide for my mom and for myself and my siblings. He has shown me that no matter what situation or what resources you have, you can work hard and achieve amazing things.

Another thing that I have learned from my dad is how important it can be to be gentle and patient. My dad is an incredibly patient person. He is a great listener, he is very compassionate, and he is very wise. I have seen his gentle spirit be so helpful in situations where everything seems to be going wrong, where my mom is scared and upset, where we lost something important, whatever it may be. My dad has always brought peace to myself and to my family. And that is something that I want to be for my family. I want to bring wisdom and peace to situations even when it doesn't make sense, just like my dad does.

Another thing that I have learned from my dad is what it looks like to walk in humility. My dad is probably the most humble person I have ever known. He has many reasons to be materialistic or prideful, but he chooses to walk in humility every single day. And though he does not show it off or maybe even see it, it is so clear to see when you are around him. He does not take his success or wealth for granted. He is careful with his money and resources, he is so generous, and he is quiet about his work and his success. He does not like to show off or complain about how hard he works. This is also an indicator that he does it for the right reason because he loves it and he genuinely wants to provide for his family.

These things that I have seen in my dad have had such an impact on me. And I have even realized that none of them are things that he has verbally taught to me, but rather things that I have just observed by being around him. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have a father who is a great example of many things. I hope that these things can be impactful to you as well and encourage you to strive to be better.