“Don’t think like that.”
I let my mother's words sink in. She was mad at me; that was clear. We were at Walmart that day waiting for her shift to end. As I walked alongside my mom, fascinated by the way her walkie talkie rang with static noises, I thought about what it would be like to work alongside her when I grew up. I pictured myself in the beige Levi pants and the navy blue collared shirts living a simple life. That sounded alright to me. I thought it was a good idea. My mom, on the other hand, did not.
As soon as I voiced what I was thinking, my mother took my face in her hands, and firmly stated: “Yasy, your life will better than mine. You will not work at a place like Walmart for the rest of your life. You will not be like me.” At the time, I did not fully understand why this was such a big deal to her, but I nodded along and grabbed onto her hand when she was done.
This is the earliest memory I have of one of my family's’ “do-well-in-life” statements. Of course, it was not the last. Years passed and the same motivational phrases made their way into my life:
“You have so much potential mija, use it”, my dad told me.
“Do not stay here, go live, go travel”, my Tio Alexis said. “Do …show more content…
As soon as we settled into our new life, things took a sharp turn at home. As high school began, my parents spent more time at work and less at home. This was out of necessity, we needed the money. I remember watching mom hobble up the stairs on her bad leg and dad clutching his bad shoulder after another accident at work. I remember their stress when my uncle got arrested and their fights over missing Puerto Rico. I remember their separation and our constant moves. All of this pulled at my parents attention and, understandably, they could not be there for me as much as they were before. Yet, even as their encouraging voices became whispers in my mind, I found it in me to carry
I let my mother's words sink in. She was mad at me; that was clear. We were at Walmart that day waiting for her shift to end. As I walked alongside my mom, fascinated by the way her walkie talkie rang with static noises, I thought about what it would be like to work alongside her when I grew up. I pictured myself in the beige Levi pants and the navy blue collared shirts living a simple life. That sounded alright to me. I thought it was a good idea. My mom, on the other hand, did not.
As soon as I voiced what I was thinking, my mother took my face in her hands, and firmly stated: “Yasy, your life will better than mine. You will not work at a place like Walmart for the rest of your life. You will not be like me.” At the time, I did not fully understand why this was such a big deal to her, but I nodded along and grabbed onto her hand when she was done.
This is the earliest memory I have of one of my family's’ “do-well-in-life” statements. Of course, it was not the last. Years passed and the same motivational phrases made their way into my life:
“You have so much potential mija, use it”, my dad told me.
“Do not stay here, go live, go travel”, my Tio Alexis said. “Do …show more content…
As soon as we settled into our new life, things took a sharp turn at home. As high school began, my parents spent more time at work and less at home. This was out of necessity, we needed the money. I remember watching mom hobble up the stairs on her bad leg and dad clutching his bad shoulder after another accident at work. I remember their stress when my uncle got arrested and their fights over missing Puerto Rico. I remember their separation and our constant moves. All of this pulled at my parents attention and, understandably, they could not be there for me as much as they were before. Yet, even as their encouraging voices became whispers in my mind, I found it in me to carry