Meet Luis
"The problem with being twenty one is not that there aren't any doors open, but that there are so many doors open, and each one leads to a new destination."
" My father was an immigrant in a city he never knew. Being an immigrant and a father is like being a tour guide in a place you’ve never been before. "
"Being an immigrant helped me understand that my purpose in life was different. For a long while I thought it was a burden to be an immigrant. I didn't have the same opportunities as my friends in school. From eighth grade on, I knew I had to make money one way or another. When I was in high school, I found a job roofing. It was one of the toughest jobs I've ever had-working up in the heat, carrying these seventy pound bags full of shingles. But it taught me how to really work hard for what I loved. After that first day of roofing, I came home so dusty that my family wondered if I had been run over by a car. But I told them I was working. I went to my mom with a big smile on my face, put the money I earned on the table and said, 'Here is the one hundred dollars I today.' She hugged me and was really happy, saying, 'Thank you!' After that moment, I fell in love with the idea of helping my family in any way possible. "
"My baby is too young to know what cartoon he likes, so he doesn’t really watch many. One day we were going to the beach and there was a man selling balloons with different cartoon designs – Batman, Superman, Ninja Turtles. I told him, 'Pick a character and whatever character you pick, that will be your party theme.' I was pushing him towards Batman, but he ends up choosing My Little Pony. At first I told him, 'That is a girl’s cartoon.' But he was so eager about My Little Pony. So at the end I said, 'Who am I to tell you what cartoon character would be right or wrong?' He picked My Little Pony and I said, 'OK, My Little Pony it is.' He was so excited about it. I know it’s not much, but I want him to start practicing the habits of making his own decisions."
“When I was in 8th grade, I would help my mother clean people's houses — people who seemed to have everything in life. After a while they began confiding in me and I became something close to their counselor. They didn’t seem too happy. I grew up hearing these stories of people who had so much money and yet seemed so unsatisfied. It changed my perspective of what I wanted out of life. It no longer was money, it was a form of happiness.”
" As I sit out here on my porch, I think of the kids in Englewood. I come home from work and I see the little girls in the middle of the street jumping jump rope. I see kids running back and forth in the alley, because we don't have many parks in Englewood. That is why there is so much violence going on in this neighborhood, there is nothing to do. So, I start off with little things, like teaching my son how to play baseball. As we’re playing, I see little three year old’s hanging out in the alley and I’ll invite them over to the yard and we’ll play baseball. Next thing you know we have a whole baseball team. That is my way of working with the boys in the street. When it comes to the girls, I created a lemonade stand so they could know what having a business feels like. We sell slushis, chips, hot dogs and lemonade to help them make some extra money. The girls in the neighborhood, they love it. When the stand comes out they’re like, 'Something’s about to go down!' Whatever we could do to help the kids in the neighborhood learn what being in a business feels like."