My Family: My Immigrants From India To The United States

The Indian culture idealizes sons. Traditionally, sons are cherished because they inherit land, while parents have to pay a dowry for their daughters. Daughters have always been treated as if they are useless and inferior. My parents immigrated from India to the United States, carrying the beliefs of the Indian culture with them. The beliefs of others denigrated my personal value due to their idealization of men. When I was younger, I used to compare my parents to other Indian parents, thinking they were more progressive than the others. For example, while my parents believed that it was necessary for me to be out in the world and making mistakes to learn on my own, my uncle constantly questioned why I was out of the house so much. Lately, I have begun to realize that my parents may not be as conservative as my uncle, but they still hold the restraining view of the Indian culture. …show more content…
My dad has tried to convince me that I should become a nurse because, in India, that is one of the highest ranking jobs that women can achieve. He has tried to persuade me that I should follow what other women have done. He has even gone out of his way to have other women speak to me about the path they took in college. At first, I accepted my dad’s view. As I considered what he had told me about becoming a nurse, I decided to volunteer at St. Rose Hospital. Volunteering at the hospital was a pivotal moment for me. I began to realize that I would never want to work in a hospital. I would never be able to listen to people moaning and crying in pain on a daily basis. St. Rose showed me that I needed to explore a different career path based on my own