Post by stephanietapia on Aug 9, 2011 17:30:37 GMT -5
Downtown Chicago suburbs was the place I lived the first two years of my life. My parents were both born and raised in Mexico, a country full of poverty. They moved to the United States (at seperate times) with the assistance of a Visa. They met in the Chicago suburbs and became soulmates and nine months later, a little Stephanie was born. When I was about six months old, my parents limit of staying in the US had expired - so they returned to Mexico to stabalize their Visas. I stayed with my grandmother while my parents were gone for three weeks. How we ended up in Kentucky, I don't really know. We settled in a duplex in Danville and my mom and dad got jobs at a local factory. Once I turned three years old, I went to preschool for two years. Then when I turned five, we moved to an actuall house we could call our own. We've been living there for about 12 years. Both my parents knew little English, and for those who know my parents, now, they know a lot. My dad never took classes to learn, he learned through working and communicating with co-workers. My mom did take classes, at Danville High School in the Adult Learning Center. She formed friendships with people who were kind to her. Eventually she became a teacher and helped spanish speaking students learn english, she understood them better as people. This was an advantage for our family- We all became bilingual. In 2003, she quit because of personal matters.
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich not only focuses on the income view of the jobs she aquired, but also the communication she had with the other workers. After my mom quit, she went back to working in a factory and she still continues to do so. My dad has also worked in factories pretty much his whole life. He's also had his fair share of pain. Ehrenreich says,"But there's another capacity of the neuromuscular system, which is pain." He's been through two very painfull and hard to recover knee surgeries. From what? Soccer. He's was and still is very much into it. The injuries have taken a toll on him, but he's never stopped working. My mom and I tell him to take some time off to relax, his answer? No. I appreciate my dad for what he does, he always looks after his family no matter how much pain his jobs put him through. Recently, he has obtained two jobs. It's not minimum wage, it's more, but it's also more hours. He works an eight hour shift at the hospital, passing out food out to rooms. From there, after 8oclock, he goes to the Boyle County Public LIbrary to clean for about 3-4 hours. It's not a cleaning service like in Nickel and Dimed, but to him it is. It's just him by himself cleaning 8 bathrooms(5 open to public), vacumming the whole library, changing trash bags, and wiping fingerprints off windows. So for him, that's 12 hours working, getting home around 10 or 11 at night.
I'm not ashamed of where my parents have worked at or what they've been through. I'm so proud of them, so so proud. My mom sacrificed her dreams of becoming a lawyer to provide a better living style for her future children. They both came to America not knowing a bit of English, but they were able to learn it. Despite two painful knee surgeries (not fully recovered), my dad still works to provide a shelter, food, clothes, necessities, but he still has time to care. On page 101, Ehrenreich asks,"Is there help for the harworking poor? Yes, but it takes a determined and not too terribly poor person to find it." That's what my parents are, they're determined.
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich not only focuses on the income view of the jobs she aquired, but also the communication she had with the other workers. After my mom quit, she went back to working in a factory and she still continues to do so. My dad has also worked in factories pretty much his whole life. He's also had his fair share of pain. Ehrenreich says,"But there's another capacity of the neuromuscular system, which is pain." He's been through two very painfull and hard to recover knee surgeries. From what? Soccer. He's was and still is very much into it. The injuries have taken a toll on him, but he's never stopped working. My mom and I tell him to take some time off to relax, his answer? No. I appreciate my dad for what he does, he always looks after his family no matter how much pain his jobs put him through. Recently, he has obtained two jobs. It's not minimum wage, it's more, but it's also more hours. He works an eight hour shift at the hospital, passing out food out to rooms. From there, after 8oclock, he goes to the Boyle County Public LIbrary to clean for about 3-4 hours. It's not a cleaning service like in Nickel and Dimed, but to him it is. It's just him by himself cleaning 8 bathrooms(5 open to public), vacumming the whole library, changing trash bags, and wiping fingerprints off windows. So for him, that's 12 hours working, getting home around 10 or 11 at night.
I'm not ashamed of where my parents have worked at or what they've been through. I'm so proud of them, so so proud. My mom sacrificed her dreams of becoming a lawyer to provide a better living style for her future children. They both came to America not knowing a bit of English, but they were able to learn it. Despite two painful knee surgeries (not fully recovered), my dad still works to provide a shelter, food, clothes, necessities, but he still has time to care. On page 101, Ehrenreich asks,"Is there help for the harworking poor? Yes, but it takes a determined and not too terribly poor person to find it." That's what my parents are, they're determined.