Carlos took care of his mother. Some weeks ago, she broke several bones because of falling from a second floor. As usual, he looked for the best way to help her and, undoubtedly, dedicated himself to looking after her.
Nevertheless, after the accident, looking after her mother increasingly required him more hours, that despite of it all were never enough. Carlos’ economic situation, since he had less time to work, quickly worsened. He ate worse and worse, his life slowly consumed by anxiety. He became so poor that he was forced to drop out of university (his means to a better opportunity). With no money in his pockets, it wouldn’t be long until he felt he had hit rock bottom: he had nothing to lose.
Carlos knew that, if he started studying again, he would have to stop taking care of his mother for some hours during the week. However, he decided to apply to a hospitality course given and granted by the Colombian government. He started looking after his mother during the day to study at night. His sleep hours could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Keeping this lifestyle in the long term became impossible. Exhausted, with no energy, Carlos was almost willing to leave his studies and only dedicate himself to his mother. After all, she was his most important person in his life and his priority.
It was then, when he was at his lowest point and anguish was part of his everyday life, with no energy and no desire to live, that he faced the most important decision in his life: choose to fight or to die, choose to give up or to keep trying with the rest of his strength. Carlos did what he thought most correct and sensible: he put more effort in his studies to graduate earlier and reorganized his time to be more productive. He felt he was not doing it only for himself; it was also for his family. Finally, not only did he graduate, but also was the best of his class. And soon the call that would change his life would arrive. Carlos, we have a job for you. The voice on the other side of the line came from the Hilton Hotel, one of the hotels with the best reputation in the sector.
-Adrià, if you think that call was what changed my life… you are wrong. Deciding to graduate was what changed my life. Not the call.
Carlos explained to me that working at the Hilton Hotel opens a lot of doors. Not only because of its name, but also because of what you learn working in a place with such high quality standards.
«The Hilton Hotel was my bridge to Spain since the Sagardí restaurant group didn’t take long to call me offering me a job in one of its restaurants in Barcelona. Without much thought, I left. The most difficult thing wasn’t leaving my family behind… but understanding that, if I really wanted to help my mother, the best I could do was to leave in search of a better life.»
«I arrived in Spain with a contract, but nowhere to stay. I didn’t have money for the deposit of an apartment, not even for food during the first month. I had a job, but no money. I had to live on the streets for one month».
