Spanish teacher Belarmino Chávez was born in Los Angeles, Calif. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Blair, Neb. for better work opportunities for his parents.
Chávez is the oldest of three brothers. Like many siblings, they fought constantly and anything sparked an argument. Chávez’s parents hated their fights and the boys would get in trouble for not getting along.
Chávez turned to his grandma for support. He could be undoubtedly wrong, but in his grandma’s eyes, Chávez was always right. This formed a powerful bond between the two.
“My grandma made me smile as a kid because she was always on my side, even when my parents weren’t,” Chávez said.
Moving to a state that is drastically different from where you were raised is hard. Los Angeles is a diverse city and is a mix of all kinds of people living there. It is an artistic city with entertaining nightlife. It’s set as one of the most creative hubs for art and culture in America. So, a move to Blair was a huge cultural shock. Blair is a boring small-town rural city with 96.15% of the population being White. Chávez, a hispanic child, stuck out like a sore thumb.
Adapting to the new city was not easy for Chávez. He was self-conscious about being different from his surrounding peers, and those around him did not make him feel comfortable being the new student.
High school was not fun for Chávez because he was new. He lacked as many friends as the rest of the students did. Eager to graduate, Chávez wanted to take the easy way out of high school. He wanted to take a Spanish class because he was fluent. Chávez’s school counselor, however, knew he was capable of much more.
Another person who strongly impacted Chávez’s life after he moved from Los Angeles to Blair, NE.
Secretly, the counselor switched his Spanish class to a French class. She pushed Chávez to his limits instead of letting him take the easy path to graduation.
“I am glad that my counselor did that switch,” Chávez said. “I did end up taking Spanish 1 my senior year though.”
Chávez realized things needed to change. His counselor was the start of his transformation to become a hard-working student. Chávez had played soccer and football since middle school. He continued in high school and developed strong friendships with his teammates.
That was what Chávez needed. He needed support from somebody who was strongly interested in his success.
High schoolers often find themselves taking shortcuts because they are not eager to put in the effort. Mistakes happen. But the only way to grow is to learn from mistakes.
“If I could talk to him [his past self], I would say ‘sup’,” Chávez said. “Stop fighting with your brothers. They love you. Be nicer to them.”
