“In 30 years from now I hope that my children and my grandchildren have had a colorful life. I hope that they take chances and that they walk through doors and discover the beauty of the simple things.

I have had a blessed life and I have had many chapters, and took chances on my own, but the one that gave me the most joy was traveling for my job and meeting people from all around the world. That was such a gift to me!

Being far from my home and being able to experience various cuisines, languages and art that opened my mind to learn how to connect with anyone.

This is how you become rich; not monetarily, but real rich, inside your heart.”

[C.]

“In 30 years from now I my daughter to know that she has wings to fly and a mind to dream.

If life puts you in front of a tough time and drags you down, you get up, and start all over again. You fight every day! For your self, and for your children.

In a family where we work hard to spend time together, we hold each other tightly. We move on, until we see the light at the end of the tunnel, getting so close to you.”

[T.]

“In 30 years from now I want my three children to remember that everything begins from the ground, as do the roots of a family, the dreams and the love.

If you can look-down you will always remember where you come from and what your beliefs are.

I hold my wife’s hand at night, and while she is sick, I promise her that I will never let her go. I will hold my family together as long as I can and I will pray that God will help our story carry on.

If my children see this, they will learn from their parents and connect with our origins from the bottom of it. They will be ready to make their own walk and live their own lives.”

[L.]

“In 30 years from now I want my family to know that recently I was on ABC news. People stopped me at the park saying that they saw me on TV. I felt like a huge celebrity. Just like Marilyn Monroe!

Or this is what I like to think since when I don’t have a home to stay.

You don’t look at people for what they represent, you look at them for who they believe they are.

Everyone has bad days. No one is perfect. Life is unpredictable…

So I guess my message for the children would be: “The storm will pass.”

Then the day after you rise up, and try to get the best of it.”

[L.]

“In 30 years from now I want my children to recognize the people who help them with no expectation in return.

Twenty-six years ago I left the Venezuelan Air Force to come to America. Without papers, times were rough.

At one point I gave up and flew back home. I was young and I felt lost.

Years later, from my house in South America, I surprisedly received a letter in the mail, accepting my Us application.

I didn’t know that was even a chance!

Since then, I have been working in Florida on small and big jets. I can name every part, fix each mechanism, and make anything fly.

When I recently swore to get my United States Citizenship, I touched skies that I have never touched before.

I knew in that moment that my older sister was behind all of this. She was the one with the big dreams for all of us and sent the application out in 2003.

Many call these people family. I call them angels.”

[F.]

“In 30 years from now, I want my son to know that his father was a good man.

When he was born, he opened the cage I was trapped in. His little hands and his deep blue eyes had the key to open my heart. They made me see things that I have never seen before.

I have always thought I was like a wild animal from the Everglades, independent and powerful, but when he came into my life, I became vulnerable and I felt lost. The incredible feeling of the unknown made me discover my self again.

So, I see children at the park dressed-up as Batman or Spiderman. I look at my son and I wonder if he knows what it means to be his dad’s hero. This is what he is for me.

I am the one who provides the food in the family, but for me he is the one with the super powers!”

[C.]

“In 30 years from now I want my daughters to be able to choose, with their own eyes, what is the best for them and to be able to recognize the good people to be surround themselves around.

For a large part of my life, I did all that I thought was right for me, until I was ready to have children. Then I started choosing for them.

I felt that gracefulness that only a child can give you and now every day is a blessing.

I wish that, in 30 years from now, they will feel that same brilliance and listen to that little voice that they have inside. I hope they will say “Yes, she was a good mom!”, because they have been a wonderful company on this golden path of my life called Motherhood.”

[M.]

“In 30 years from now I want my family to know that being one of twelve children has never made me feel lonely.

I used to believe that it was so important to have your own children to carry on your legacy in life, but now I know that they don’t have to be your own.

My nieces, nephews and I share passions, games, stories, and favorite music bands. We come together and seat anywhere in the house, we exchange gifts and we listen to each other. People don’t do this anymore. They don’t take the time to just listen…

So I give them my time, and I think it is the most beautiful gift I could give to them.

In 30 years, they will know that I have been there, on that specific couch, forgetting the world around me, just looking straight into their eyes.”

[N.]

"In 30 years from now I want my daughter to believe that people come into our lives for a reason.

When I visited my hometown, I saw someone that I haven’t seen in years… my kindergarten teacher. I hugged her very tight because I thought that would be my way to thank her for teaching me the fundamentals that I needed to be successful in life.

I believe in life that we always remember the people who touched our lives as adults, but we forget to spend time talking about the ones who changed our prospective when we were young.

Watching my daughter in tears for leaving her kindergartener’s teacher makes me realize how she will keep her in memory every time she reads a book, or she counts numbers…

It is the legacy that we carry on from others that we can’t forget.

Or even let go.”

[K.]

“In 30 years from now I want my kids to believe in what they cannot see. I want them to look at the people around them, to stare at them from afar, imagining what they are going through in their lives.

So I wish people would look at my children from the inside, because this is where they keep their dreams, their secrets, their fears and their voices.

As a mother I choose to get up every day and rise up and if I can show to them what the word “love” means, I know that they just have to close their eyes, and imagine a world where everything is pink.

Because this is the place where they will always find me.”

[H.]

"In 30 years from now I want my two children to know that it took me 20 years to realize my biggest dream.

During all this time, a lot of planning, changes, tears and prayers occurred. Even in the hardest moment that my family had to go through, the energy of following my dream has never left me…

So when I published my first children's book I thought my kids would have been proud of me. But what I didn't realize is that they have been proud of me during the whole time.

In their rooms, I know they have been looking at me like I was a wonderful mother. I just never stopped my self to realize that.

Sometime it's the journey that teaches you a lot more about your destination. You just have to accept it!"

[K.]

“In 30 years from now I want my children to know that we weren’t born here. We chose to be here.

My husband immigrated to America before the rest of us in February of 2022. One day an intruder robbed my home and took everything we had. So my daughter and I decided to come over here soon after him.

Our long journey began in Cuba. We then traveled through Nicaragua to Honduras; from Honduras to Mexico, and then finally from Mexico to America. During this difficult trip between busses, taxis, and walking in the middle of the night, I prayed that my daughter would forgive me.

I knew in my heart that I was doing the right thing, I just didn’t know if we deserved all the pain in the middle.

But, finally, we made it to America. Together.

A year and a day after, when we applied for our US residency, I found out to be pregnant of my second child.

I knew then that at least one member of our family would be an America citizen, enabling us to be here forever.”

[D.]

“In 30 years from now I want my children to know that it’s not imperative to fit-in all the time…

In a world that pushes perfection, I don’t care about the career, the success, the money or the popularity. My biggest hope is that they will stay focus, strong and polite, because this is the true key to success.

Authenticity means so much more and if they were a star in the sky, they would shine the brightest.

Being different is a blessing, and it is something that should finally be celebrated!”

[M.]

“In 30 years from now I want my son to know how much his arrival meant in my life.

At age of 22, I was diagnosed with a lesion in the uterus.

I had two options and I opted surgery. However, during the pre-test, the doctor announced that I was pregnant. She explained to me that the baby could have saved my life, since during delivery it could help treat the lesion.

I accepted the news with love and gratitude, and gave birth to a beautiful healthy boy who became my greatest motivation.

He is ten now and has encouraged me to make the big move to America to give us better opportunities.

Today, I can proudly say that I would not be here if it wasn't for him.”

[D.]

“In 30 years from now I want my children to remember to always be kind with one another, and to treat people, animals and Mother Nature with the same love, care and compassion they would like to be treated with.

The world can be a dark place; but what they put into it, they will receive it back in abundance.

You never know the battles strangers are persevering through, and just a small amount of kindness can get them out of the dark.

It could change their day, possibly their whole life.

This is the super power I wish them to have. It’s called kindness.”

[A.]

“In 30 years from now I want my daughters to know that they are encouraged to achieve every goal that they set up for…

Within the first month of our marriage, we got a positive pregnancy test. Unfortunately, I ended-up losing our baby. It was hard to accept it…

But we kept trying, to the point that it became my routine: wake up in the morning and take a pregnancy test. I did this for several years with no success, until the morning the test was positive!

Nine months later we heard our first daughter crying. It was the most wonderful sound we have ever heard!

So I had her name engraved into my ring to forever remember how lucky I am.”

[S.]

“In 30 years from now, I want my child to know that the home we live today was his great-grandparent’s home.

I want my child to remember all the Tuesdays that he spent coming into this home and the joy that he brought to his great-grandparents every time he entered that door.

He will always find him in the notes that he wrote and that are still hanging on the kitchen cabinets. He even made his own magnets. The one on the fridge states, “Each man’s life touches so many others.”

He truly did it with us.”

[K.]

“In 30 years from now I would love my children to know that they were truly a blessing from God.

In 2014, prior to having children, I had to have an emergency surgery for a cyst removal on one of my ovaries, because it could impact my having children.

When I went in for the surgery, I surprisingly found out that the cyst naturally went away. It was at that moment that my faith in Jesus grew.

Nine months later, I found out that I was pregnant with my first son.

We had four children in total now and during those difficult times, we saw the Lord provide us in a miraculous way that one would not believe.

We truly thank Him for putting His hand over us and writing our story…”

[L.]

“In 30 years from now I would like my daughter to remember the struggles that I had when I first wanted to have her. She has 2 older brothers, with a big gap in age of 13 and 15 years. When I was ready to have her it was not time for her to come along.

It took a while and I felt so sad for a long time because I thought it wasn’t a possibility… Luckily I got a miracle and she was born. Surprisingly she became the biggest, sweetest part of our lives.”

[C.]

“In 30 years from now I would like my daughter to remember how I took care of her grandfather for many years. I would like her to have room in her heart to take care of me, if I ever need it.

She has pulled away from the family and time is running out. Her grandfather is now 91 years old and not very healthy.

She would be surprised with the things I have done for him without her knowing about them.

I hope that my daughter would look back on our lives and wish she had spent more quality time with her grandfather and me.”

[C.]

“In 30 years from now I want my family to know that I am back where I spent my childhood.

Every summer we would fly from Germany and rent a place here to stay all together. The best days at my young age belong to this town.

When my father passed away we stopped coming here. He was the one keeping these moments alive, and once he was gone, we couldn’t keep this tradition.

But 30 years later, I am back with my wife. She has never been in Florida and I felt she had to see the young me and imagine me running up and down the shore, laughing out loud with my parents and my sister…”

[S.]

“In 30 years from now I want her to know that she was born premature at 25 weeks. That changed our lives!

I decided to quit everything we were doing. I was going to stay at home with her, take care of her and work online, so we will be together forever.”

[P.]

“In 30 years from now I would like our daughters to remember all the little traditions that we did with them as they were growing up; like getting bagels and going to the park on a Saturday...

Or the story about Kitty & Feline, and Fluffy & Tom Tom, which is kind of the bedtime story I tell them every night about different things that our family does.

So I hope are the simple things that they remember, that we hope to give them as much joy as possible, trying to keep them kids for a little longer.”

[G.]

“In 30 years from now I want my daughters to tell their children the story of when they both met their grandmother.

They were 6 and 10 at that time and we went to the Miami Airport to pick her up from a flight from Columbia. She came to the United States to meet them for the first time and she was very excited, but also anxious.

When she finally got her luggage and walked toward us, she stared at her granddaughters for a few seconds and then she simply passed-out.

Me, my husband, my sister, my cousin and my nephew were all trying to wake her up. When she finally did, we all started laughing with her, as it seemed too funny to be true.

The day after, we took her to Disneyworld, because being together, for us, was the real magic.”

[S.]

“In 30 years from now I want my children to pass my story to others…

In 2014 one of my twin daughters passed away at only seven months.

It was incredibly hard, but I had two reasons that kept me alive: my son and the other twin daughter.

At that time we had no car, no house, and my husband was the only one working, but we held on.

As a mother, wife, and woman, I had to find the strength for all of us. How do you say to a child that you don’t feel like eating, that you are not sleeping, that you have no time for myself?

But today my son is 14 and the twin is 10 years old. She is tall, beautiful and in good health.

Death is a process of life, and you just need to stay strong and talk about it, to inspire others to don’t give up.”

[D.]

“In 30 years from now I want my daughter to remember all the good times that we spend together of our nightly prayers, giving thanks of what God gave us: food, shelter, health…

It definitely comes to mind that we are missing valuable time that will not come back as parents.

In a long run all the hard work that we are putting in right now is going to come back. We try to make good deeds everyday, so we want my little one to remember that we always push, no matter what the circumstances are, and no matter how complicated the day gets, mom and dad will always walk in with a smile on our face.”

[S.]

“In 30 years from now I want to remember the moment you were diagnosed with autism. We were extremely scared and didn’t know if our child was going to be different. We questioned how to parent a child with autism. As time went by we found out that you were no different from any other child. You have a beautiful smile, you teach us stuff and you are incredibly smart. You are definitely very girly, you like your little toys and all your make up.

We were so worried about you but we realized, you are more normal that we could ever imagine.”

[T.]

“In 30 years from now I want my son to remember how he saved my life. The day before my 40th birthday I cut my leg with hedge trimmers and I started bleeding everywhere. He threw water on my face, told me to wake up and made a Turn-I-Kit to stop the blood.

I will always be grateful for what he did!”

[J.]

“In 30 years from now I want my son to remember the godly woman his mother was and him to understand why we come together every night and why we took on lessons on praying every day. He will understand the struggle it was to get him on and why prayers are important.”

[K.]

“In 30 years from now I want my children to know that my second daughter was born three months premature. At that time we already had another child and it was a very tough time for us. She was in the hospital for a while but we came out of that situation stronger and fortunately for us, she is healthy and happy now so this is just a story that made us stronger as a family.”

[N.]