Page 29 - Life Legacy Project

A Woman With Forgiveness and Kindness
Consuelo Guandique Age: 68
“You have to learn to forgive and mostly forgive yourself so that you can have peace.” was a quote that my grandma Consuelo Guandique stated. The name “Consuelo” is a latin name that means to “To comfort” and that is exactly what my grandma does. I chose my grandma for the Life Legacy Project because of all my life I have always looked up to my grandma. My grandma is very intelligent, caring of others, always positive, and has a funny sense of humor.
Growing up my grandma was raised in a house full of kids. Including her, there were 7 kids in her family. She had 5 sisters and 1 brother. She was raised in the Mexican culture and was born in Lake Chapala, Mexico. Her family then later moved to Fresno, California. People who she looked up to growing up were John F. Kennedy (35th president) and Cesar Chavez (farm worker rights activist). Her dream was to become a college graduate and that she did. Something hard that my grandma went through was the loss of her only son, Joshua who is my uncle. He went missing March 17, 2004. He was later then declared deceased. This is an example of something that makes my grandma resilient and stronger because she never gave up on finding him.
My grandma had many jobs. Her first one was helping Latino farm working families find employment with benefits. She would also help Latino’s learn English and get their GED. Her next job was At-Risk Youth (Latino) in he Mt. Vernon School District k-12. She helped children who are living in an unsafe environment or children who have made bad decisions and help them get better. Her last and final job which happened to be her favorite was at the Skagit Valley College. She helped get college students an education and worked to get them scholarships. Something that I would like to recognize my grandma as to be proud of is that she was the first Latina women on the Mt. Vernon City Council. I am very proud of my grandma’s achievements.
Right now my grandma is retired but that doesn’t stop her from working hard and doing what she does. Currently, she is helping her husband’s family who recently immigrated here from El Salvador. Her big goal at this moment is looking into buying larger property. Overall the most important things to her are her husband, children, grandchildren, and friends. She is always positive and loves to see people being positive and caring around her. Consuelo says she always thinks about her kids and grandchildren all the time, hoping that they are safe. Her one wish for our world is to have world peace in every country. To end discrimination and racism amongst the world. If Consuelo could give our current generation any piece of advice it would be to learn from others mistakes. It could be world leaders, friends, and family. We should all work together to fix mistakes and decisions from the past.
My grandma is someone who I have always looked up to. Someone who taught me to never give up on my dreams. I admire how hard she works and how caring she is for others. Consuelo has always been known around my family to help everyone and anyone out. The legacy she is leaving is a great one. She will leave the traits as someone who is kind and very hard working. She never judges anyone no matter what mistakes they make in life and overall is someone with the biggest heart I know. I think she is someone who our generation should admire to become.
By Keyanna Henderson
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