Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Two Kinds of Lives

Montserrat Cosio
ESL 100
September 26, 2015
Final Draft
Two kinds of lives
The relationship between family members can sometimes be complicated, not only because every single member of the family is different, but also because sometimes there is not enough time to enjoy each other’s company. My parents taught me the value of having family time. The same way as my parents taught me those values, I want to teach them to my children. However, since my family and I moved to the United States from Mexico, it has been really difficult for us to have family time. The daily relationship that we had in Mexico is now gone. It is difficult for us to have family time because everyone is so busy working or studying. Therefore, My family and I have lost our family relationship since we moved to the United States.
One of the most important values that my family taught me was communication. When I lived in Mexico, every single member of my family was interested to know about how was our day in school and work. This frequent communication was one of my favorite parts of having family time because I felt that my family was interested in what was going on with me. Additionally, every time we had a conversation, I felt free like a bird flying in the air, because I did not have to carry what happened during the day with me anymore. Sometimes we talked about simple things, like people, places, and dreams. However, since we moved to Chicago, we have been losing communication because of the routine of our daily days has changed. Now, my siblings and I have homework and activities during the day. Moreover, my parents are busy because they work from the morning to night, and by the time they get home, they are really tired to chat. The longest conversation that we had recently was about my decision to college. Now, My family and I, have to make an  appointment to talk with each other because we don't have time to have a conversation during the day.
When I lived in Mexico, we had one meal with our family every day. There is a tradition in my city, Guadalajara which is in Jalisco Mexico, that every afternoon between 2:00pm- 4:00pm businesses have to close, so bosses and employees can go to eat and enjoy time with their families. This was the time that my siblings and I could see my father and talk with him. On the other hand, here in Chicago, I see my father only at night and sometimes I don’t even see him because his business do not close until late at night. Moreover, the first job that my father got was in a restaurant as a bartender. He worked early in the morning until the restaurant closed at night. Now father is a busy, busy bee. He is always busy with work and it has been really difficult for my family and me to adapt to a schedule where we all can have free time to enjoy each other’s company.
Furthermore, in Mexico, we always planned what we were going to do on Saturdays and Sundays as a family. Every weekend we had a different activity, like riding bikes, going to the park, or just having a barbeque in our backyard. We knew the only thing we had to do on those days it was enjoy our family and that helped us to maintain our strong relationship. However, after we arrived in Chicago, our family weekends were gone because now my father has to work during the weekend, my brother has soccer games every weekend and my sister has community hours because it is a requirement for her school. It has been truly strange for me to not see my father during weekends. Over time, my family has become a bookshelf, sometimes we have a really good books in our home, but because of daily activities, we have forgotten about the good books on our shelves. The same as my family we have forgotten about the good values that we had like sharing family time.
I have been living in Chicago for six years. I realize that since we arrived in Chicago, we have been strangers to each other because we lost our connection as a family. Now we experienced two kinds of lives, the one where my family and I know each other and the one that is always busy like a little aunt or a bee. I miss our family time because of the loss of communication and I feel burdened because now I have to carry with me all the things that happened in the day. In Mexico, I had a better relationship with my siblings and my parents than the one that I have today. In addition, this situation has been affecting my family because now it is hard to know what is going on their lives. In fact, my father, now has little knowledge of what it is happening with my siblings and me at school or outside school. Even though we have a new life in Chicago, it’s time for us to to have fun and enjoy time together once again.

7 comments:

  1. Good evening a little Princess,

    It is very sad. I really want to live here, but your writing made me think again about my plans. I need to once again review whole my plans about my family and my future in the U.S. I think most people lost here most important thing in their life. I like your essay. It was good to know about your experiences here.
    Thank you

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  3. Hi Monste. Sorry to know your story. From my perspective, i also think family is most important in my life. In fact, studying or working in the U.S has been tough since everyone want to have a better life. Good luck to you and your family.
    Trang Nguyen

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    1. Thank you I angled that you found some connections with my essay.

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  4. Hey Montserrat.
    Your story was very interesting, and I liked your title:) seems like I have seen it somewhere, but it is a great use of school lectures and stories. Thank you for sharing you feeling and inherent.

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  5. Thank you so much for reading my story I'm glad you like it

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