|
My name is Diego Acuña, and I was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1958.
A family of seven, we came to San Francisco in the 60s. We lived a poor
life in the Mission. I didn’t know anyone. I found myself in a big city
where I was about 7 years of age, going to school in Starr King in the
3rd grade. I didn’t know how to read or write. I was ashamed of myself,
so I didn’t want to go to school. I used to hide from all of the kids
in school because I didn’t know how to be kid or how to say where I
was from. All I did was run and run away from my problems. I began to
use drugs and was always running from all my friends because I didn’t
know how to say what I liked to say.
I stayed in San Francisco for at least
seven years doing the same thing—running away from my problems. Then
I moved back to Santa Fe in 1974 with my father, and I was not going
to school or doing anything for myself but getting into trouble and
using drugs. The police were looking for me. I was only 14 years of
age running from the law, so I was sent back to San Francisco, where
the life was too fast for me. By not going to school, I started to use
drugs once again.
I went back to Santa Fe for a few months
when I met a young woman. We fell in love, and I was not a bright young
man, so I didn’t know how to do the things the way I wanted to do for
us. We had a son of our own. It was not good for us to raise a kid when
we were just kids ourselves, so we were not doing the things we liked
to do. I just kept on doing the same things—running and running from
my problems. All I knew was the street life, which was not good for
me. And then I had two more kids and was living a hard life. In 1986,
we were not happy anymore, so we broke up.
In 1990, I went back to San Francisco
where I was doing no good for 12 years, going in and out of jails like
it was a thing to do.
But now I am doing the best I can for
myself so I can move on and know what life is all about. And find myself
a woman so that I could live one more time again. Right now I’m in a
good spot—it’s called the Latino Commission. I’ve been here over seven
months.
I’m going to Project Read. The first time
I was there, I met Heather. She helped me get a tutor, Anjolie. I have
been seeing my friend Anjolie for almost three months. She helps me
with things that will help me in life, and she is doing a really good
job. And now my friend Heather decided to help me with one more tutor,
Lorna, so I could work hard on myself, which is a good thing for my
education. Now I have two of the best tutors who do the best to show
Diego who is Diego.
With the help of my friends in the Latino
Commission and the help of the Project Read program and my tutors and
myself, I will live like a real man.
|
