Love evolves at different stages as people age, Love is careless and carefree at an early stage, getting wiser and careful as you matured, love at later times is understanding and forgiving, wishing to spend life together till the end. Love is you value each other’s effort, being truthful and honest with each other, love is respect, forgiving and kind.

I asked my father how he defined love.

Reynaldo Bustos, a man of truth and integrity, has always inspired me to excel in everything I do. He always challenged me to give my greatest and take pride in all of my achievements, but to also humbly stoop down when necessary. “Rey” is a fair and just man, never biased towards or against anyone. He always makes an effort to listen and understand both sides, instead of passing unfounded judgment.  It is my father’s kind heart that I admire the most and his compassion for others is what makes him stand out as an individual. He gives of his resources without expecting return. However, as compassionate as my father can be, he is never frail, and he doesn’t weep nor shrink in times of hardships, but instead, he smiles and dwells in positivity.

My parents have both encouraged me to never be afraid of experiencing life. “Expect the worst,” he always said, “but hope for the best.” He molded me to be independent, always treating me as my own person, capable of making my own decisions. He educates with the harsh truth most of the time and it never ceases to impact me immensely. He has always believed in me even if my adolescent mind has let him down before.

Reynaldo has always instilled in me the essence of hard work, that in order to truly succeed you need to experience how it is to start from the bottom. He often talks about how much more rewarding the journey will be, and although he lacked the proper education needed his strong will propelled him to the top.

Humility, determination, and compassion are virtues rarely found amongst individuals nowadays, yet I am privileged to be acquainted with such distinction and I am honored to call him my father.