Meet Gabriel

Once in a while, you meet a person who really inspires you. Someone who has done amazing things and has lived what one might call a life less ordinary. This week, I met one of these people. His name is Gabriel.

On Monday, Gabriel came into our Writing Center for some help revising a memoir he was writing for a Chicano Lit class. I didn’t think much of it and sat down to read his draft. The story felt like a partially completed puzzle – you could tell the picture would be amazingly beautiful, but there were gaps and pieces still missing. I began to ask him questions to help him learn to develop the paragraphs and connect the ideas, but I ended up learning just as much as he did. Instead of having a tutorial session, our interaction turned to a series of vignettes about his life – from losing pride in his Mexican heritage because of his drunken father’s escapades, to the history of French schools in Mexico, to Romance languages and psychology. This sweet, nondescript little man had escaped his dysfunctional family in Mexico by following an educational path all the way to Paris, France. The more we spoke and explored his memoir, the more amazing stories poured from his mouth. I knew I was supposed to focus on his essay, but I couldn’t shut my yap. I had to keep asking questions and every time I did, he would wave his hand and lay it on my arm, look me in the eye, and share a piece of his history with me. We spent only 30 minutes together, but I felt refreshed for the entire day.

Today, I returned to the Writing Center, hoping to find Gabriel waiting for me. I learned from another tutor that he had just left. That tutor had recently worked with Gabriel, too, and we began sharing the pieces of his story and about our interactions together. Then another tutor joined our conversation and we were all amazed by how much Gabriel had inspired us this week. Although he had come into the Writing Center looking for our help, Gabriel gave so much to everyone who worked with him. I learned on Monday that he is an aspiring writer and he hopes to write and publish his memoir. I wish him all the luck in the world and hope that we are among many who get to hear his amazing story.