Growing up, Jacob Gadea always wanted to make his step-mom proud. Even though times were tough, Gadea tried his best to succeed. Jacob Gadea’s step-mom, Zoraida Mancilla, was always there for Jacob. Mancilla has pushed him through his hard times and never let him give up. For ten plus years Zoraida was one of Jacob’s supporters, who always saw the best in him and wanted him to succeed in life. In the year 2021, Jacob decided to sign up for the Marines Corps Recruit Training and to show off his hard work. The following two weeks after Gadea had been accepted to the training, he waited anxiously, soon to be sent off.

The day had finally arrived that would end up changing Gadea’s life. On the 17th of April 2021 was the day that Jacob Gadea was sent to the MCRT. For three months, Jacob Gadea had a routine of waking up early and going straight to training. He had to go through three different training sessions. The first base of the training was physical and mental health. The Marines go through physical training by doing pull-ups, push-ups, abdominal crunches, or plank poses. They also have a three mile run that they are required to do. The second base is rifle training, and lastly, field training. Some Marines might even end up giving up and leaving home. Jacob Gadea has had his moments where he thought about quitting but was able to pull through each of them.

Then, the day that Gadea was waiting for finally arrived and all of his hard work paid off. The reason Gadea went to the Marines was to make his family proud and he finally graduated. Gadea was officially a Marine on July 16, 2021. After around 2 hours of the ceremony, he was able to greet his family and celebrate. Tears fell when he told them that he felt like giving up and thought he wouldn’t make it.

Today, March 5th 2022, I’ve asked Gadea about some emotions he felt during the training. “There were times I’ve felt like giving up, where the times were hard,” said Gadea. “I would even wonder if I’ll be able to make it out alright.” Gadea went through many hard obstacles but was proud of his ending. At the end of the day Gadea said it was worth it because he now gets to see how much his family is proud of him.