r By Jacob Gossner
My Story Matters recently completed a project at Westside Elementary in Springville, UT. We interviewed and photographed over 60 children of migrant workers attending summer school. Among the children who we interviewed at Westside were three brothers: Francisco, Luis and Marcos.
These three were inseparable as they went to have their pictures taken in various poses. Each of them seemed to have a favorite part – Francisco loved racing down the slide and shooting the soccer ball, Marcos loved trying to dunk the basketball, and Luis enjoyed showing off his muscles by doing push-ups on the playground. After their photos, all three of them needed to leave early from school, and so we returned to Westside a week later to interview them.
During the interviews, it became apparent that they were truly good friends. I was lucky enough to get to interview Francisco, the youngest of the three. Francisco loves to play with bubbles and enjoys games with his friends, especially hide and seek. He loves dinosaurs and wants to learn more about them as he grows older. During the interview, Francisco remarked that, “when I need help, Luis, my brother, helps me the most.” Later, when I asked who loves him the most, he proudly said “My brothers love me the most. They spend time with me.” I was touched by the closeness of these young brothers.
It is so easy to look at the difficulties in our modern world and become discouraged. But whenever I interact with these young children, I see so much potential, hope, and exuberance for life. The future is bright, not dark, for Francisco. Francisco said that his real-life hero is his dad. I would say that Francisco and his brothers are among my real-life heroes. I cannot wait to see how his life story unfolds as he courageously moves forward as the hero of his own story.
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