The Life Of My Father

It’s hard to imagine the world without the widespread masses of people, its profound technological innovations, and its never-ending growth of a global economy. Rewind 50 years from our current time, travel halfway across the globe, and you’ll find yourself in Taipei, Taiwan. On a bright summer day, a young boy sits between blades of grass, no older than eight or nine, and fiddles around with toy cars and model airplanes. He displays a look of nonchalance, and sighs in exasperation when he can’t seem to assemble the parts correctly. He imitates the sound of the roaring engines of the vehicles he holds in his hands. That boy is my father. He’s known for his interest in these classic machines, and the time he dedicates to them to solve their …show more content…
When my father was a little boy, his parents gave him an allowance, just like many other families back then at the time, and he “would save [his] allowance in a piggy bank and spend it only on things [he] really wanted, like race cars or airplane models” (Chien). Having self-control over spending money was considerably hard at such a young age, but unlike other boys, he was able to consider the consequences of saving his money in the long run, a small piece of candy versus a toy car. He was able to maintain control over his finances and to have enough willpower and determination to refrain himself from overspending. When I asked him about his teenage lifestyle, he seemed to stare right through me, as if he had transported himself back to the 19th century, but finally said, “My parents and my brother came to the States first, but I had to stay behind because I couldn’t come because I was almost 15, and the government restricted us from leaving without serving in the military. I wish we had come together instead” (Chien). Growing up, family was an important part of his life, as he relied on his parents and his brother for support. But when he had to watch his family depart for America, a place that held wonders he had only heard of before, and despite having his grandparents stay with him, he had to learn to be independent. He came home from school by himself, and diligently worked day and night to ensure the best education possible because he believed in something greater than just satisfying his parents expectations for him. He wanted the opportunity to later also immigrate to America, which later he did, and to construct a better life for himself here. None of these tasks could have lacked a single drop of determination, but my father was willing to pursue the