What it’s like to Work in the Fields at the Age of 12

What its like to Work in the Fields at the Age of 12

Kevin Bazaldua, Contributor

Working in the fields was an experience I would never forget, I started to work in the fields ever since I was 12 until the age of 17. Working in the fields was like cutting your childhood short and getting smacked with reality in an instant. The hardest part of the fields was getting used to the heat you couldn’t wear any type of clothes. You would have to wear thin clothes with long sleeves and a hoodie because if you wore thick clothes you’d get too hot and if you wore short sleeves you’d get badly sun burned since you were out in the sun for 10 hours or more. Ever since I would have to wake up at 5 in the morning to get ready for work and come back home at 5 in the afternoon just to help out my dad so he wouldn’t come back home as tired. I would have to do this for every Saturday and Sunday when i had school and when I had any sort of vacations or during summer it was from Monday through Sunday every week.

I would help my dad connect water pipes all over hundreds of acres a week. The way that the pipes are connected are by mounting hundreds of pipes onto a trailer and connecting the trailer onto a tractor. After we would drive the tractor into the field and let it roll on its own while me and my dad are on each side of the trailer taking down pipes and connecting them at the same time. Once all the pipes were connected we would start the water and go into the water to make sure each sprinkle is properly working.

From the age of 12  I was not paid besides once in a while my dad would give me 50 bucks or so. At the age of 14 my dad moved to a new company and told the boss if I can work there as well. The boss agreed and let me work on my own doing the same as before although this time I made my own money so that I save and help my parents on bills. I did this for 3 years saving all I could and helping my parents with what I could and once I turned 17 I bought my own car. All of that hard work taught me how to be humble with what I have and taught me how reality really is on how its a struggle. Even though it was hard for those 5 years it all paid off through lessons and through rewards.

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Photo provided by google