American Dream | Teen Ink

American Dream

September 12, 2014
By Daniela serrano BRONZE, Pacoima, California
Daniela serrano BRONZE, Pacoima, California
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

As the world has changed throughout the years our lifes have been modernized. My aunts years were way different than the years we live in now, Not only that but over the past fifty years society has changed as well with technology a life.

As I was talking to my aunt about her life I learned a perspective that I have never learned before and never knew what she went through. As I sat down with her she started talking about her childhood and how they would always entertain themselves. Back in Mexico the kids wouldn't have toys like the ones we have now , they would trap an Insect and tie him to a string and let it fly . Once they would finish they would let the insect go. She explained that the mothers were not as delicate as the moms from now. In the ranch the moms would let the kids play in the dirt because it was good for them and she made a connection of how my mom would let me play in the dirt with my cousins in the ranch and the mothers would be perfectly fine with it because the doctors said it was good for us kids. She said the mothers back then the moms were strict “my mother was strict with us” said my aunt. We used to get punished very often and they would hit us so we could learn our lesson.

She explained how her teenage years were, “My friends and I would go across the street and talk " she said. All the young girls would go sit and have dinner at times and we would just talk about how our day was. As she compared the teenagers from back then to now she admitted that in her times they weren't allowed to talk to boys because they would get in trouble but that now a days the girls go to the boys house or the other way around. She also said that the girls would be shy if they ever met their boyfriends mom. My aunt was telling me how she wouldn't change anything about her community “aqui esta muy tranquilo” she said , me llevo bien con todos mis vecinos . She could explain how there were gang members in her community but they wouldnt bother anyone or be rude. To tell the truth , there isn't any violence in my community

Then, she started talking about the technology in Mexico. As she was telling me she told me that in mexico no one had phone and that they needed to go to the pueblo to make a call or receive a call. “Aya no había celulares como ustedes tienen aquí” she said. When she told me this i was surprised because how did they not have any phones? There was also not TV and she would say that people wouldn't see teens texting or none of that.

My aunt told me that if she could keep one toy it would have been some dishes that were made in Mexico. Those were her favorite because it was a gift from her grandparents and she loved them a lot. I made a connection with her because when I was younger I used to have the same dishes that my grandma had sent me from Mexico before she died. Not only did she want them because they were a gift but its because they form part of our culture because in those dishes there was a tortero to make homemade tortillas.

Finally, when she was telling me about why she had come to the United States it was interesting to see what she had to tell me. She wanted to come to the U.S to have a better life than the one she left back in Mexico. She wanted to come and find a job that Would make her win a tons of money and as she talked to me she said “ si cumpli lo que queria” , she said. She came to america and found herself a good where they would pay her well and shes very happy. with her job. Talking to her made me realize that everything you want in life you have to work hard to accomplish your goals because its not going to just come to you.



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