Cruz: Disengaged Boundaries

According to (Carter, 2011), in order for a system to be distinct from their environment, the system creates boundaries. In a family system, boundaries determine who is a part of the family and who is not (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). From the beginning we see Cruz does not trust her environment, she is not open to the new change, does not even like outside people coming to her apartment, and described herself as scared and lost. Within Cruz family system she only trusts her own judgment and her children. She does not fit in and does not own certain material things her neighbors have. However, due to those boundaries she has created she unconsciously conform to adapt. She has decided not to live like that anymore. She is able to go out …show more content…
Disengaged boundaries identified in the article is the relationship Cruz has with her husband Emilio. Emilio denies being the father of her first child, and does not support Cruz nor her children. Cruz despise Emilio, and from the reading the author can interpret that Cruz does not care to have him in her life. Cruz states “Another reason why I hardly ever go to La Esmeralda is because Emilio spies on me” (Lewis, 1996). Although at times Emilio might follow her back to Villa Hermosa Cruz does not have to see him often. She is able to live freely and provide for her children on her own. Boundary does not have to be limited to the term barrier (Carter, 2011). A system may have a boundary yet be open to transfer energy across the boundary, for example another boundary identified is the lady who lives next door to Cruz. The lady has become so fond of Cruz that her husband sells credit to Cruz for food which he does for nobody. Cruz is not friendly and rarely talk to her neighbors yet she is open and realizes the level of trust she has with the lady and her husband as well as the lady’s desire to …show more content…
Every action that we take it motivated by a certain need. Towards the end of the article Cruz states “Sometimes I want to go back to La Esmeralda to live and other times I don’t (Lewis, 1996), there are many aspects of Cruz’s life where we see loneliness, and feeling of regret which is normal moving into a new environment. But is Cruz willing to give up everything she has due to her loneliness? According to Maslow hierarchy of needs people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other (Carter, 2011). Cruz’s motivation to stay is due to her stability. She is able to provide food for herself as well as for her children, and compared to her rundown apartment in La Esmeralda she has a larger and improved apartment. She has safety knowing that she came from a delinquent environment to a more settle