Nayeli's photo taken by Maya Martin-Peterson
Nayeli's photo taken by Maya Martin-Peterson
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The memories, change and myself 

Por Nayeli Sequeira Sunguroff
March 2023
The girl and the chicken Gabriela; the two grew up as great friends, but one stayed as caldo seasoned in a big bowl. It was that memory that led the girl to take the decision to do something better since the pain did not go away for a long time.  
Tired of running since I left school early, I sang "step, step, and another step" in my mind. 

My childhood seemed short as the years passed, but the desire to grow old was as close as my next-door neighbor's wall back in my house in Nicaragua. As soon as I saw my house, I couldn't stop smiling, I was excited to look at the ball of feathers that made me very happy; that being that filled my hands with worms and corn when feeding her. What I did not know is that I was a step closer to a core memory where the pain of a girl and her childhood were taken away. 
 
Seasoned with cumin, garlic, salt, and much more, was the source of my happiness lying in a plate. From that moment, I made the decision that would totally change me, it was a radical change for a 7-year-old; I cried until my eyes were dry. The days passed in the path of emptiness and silence. I ate more vegetables and less meat. By then, the people who ate more vegetables and not meat were called vegetarians. This was a word I used a lot when identifying myself, and little by little I understood how difficult it was to maintain the meaning, at that time I used to like seafood a lot, but every day that I wanted to give up, I remembered the memory of my friend Gabriela on grandma's white porcelain plate. 
 
The images of cows and pigs being slaughtered by big companies just for money calmed my desire to eat meat. Time passed, and puberty hit like the sun in the months of July. I felt like I wanted to do an even more drastic change, becoming vegan. Many people around me criticized me for being “crazy”, but I was committed. I always felt that the feelings of animals were more than just noises, especially when I watched big companies abuse them. It was like hearing their cries for help. At times in my life, I wondered if I was really helping. It all starts with a person and when more people follow, that's when you notice the real change. My journey doesn't end here, I am still learning and wondering, what does it mean to remember and change from one point of view to another? Noticing the trajectory and the traces we leave when following our objectives, is the biggest change, seeing our progress in ourselves. 
 
The biggest changes in life come to be experienced at unexpected moments. Those moments in which we make decisions that can be the change of our childhood until our adulthood, or it may just be something that we will forget about as we grow up. 

For me, this change continues to develop since the desire to eat fresh cheese is inevitable, or the rollitos that my aunt made me when I was little, those are memories filled with joyful moments, but my goal and commitment are stronger and I am not only helping animals in general, but I also help myself.

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