The skies the limit. In life, the choices we make not only affect us today but those in our
lives tomorrow. My parents mad choices that have affected my life. I have chosen to push
further and higher to be even greater then they were, allowing their mistakes to be a
stepping stone rather than an obstacle.
As a young girl growing up in Haiti, I experienced first hand that the path my parents
chose for themselves was not the life that I wanted for myself. I was able to relate closely
to Richard Rodriguez in The Achievement Desire because he faced many struggles that I
too faced as a young girl. My parents always pressured me to work hard at school, I was
always suppose to have my homework for Monday done by Friday night, which made me
so mad at my parents. Just like Rodriguez was furious at his parents for forcing him into
English classes, which started his separation from his parents. The Achievement Desire
written by Richard Rodriguez is a story of a man who found himself through education.
His whole life he was eager to read books and learn more . He was the kid in class who
always raised his hand, and would always be caught reading a book at home all by himself.
He came from a middle class Mexican family that had struggled to make it to where they
were. His parents were somewhat educated, but worked hard to make a living, similar to
mine. His siblings were also smart, but Richard always felt like he was by himself. He had
great parents but hints that there was never that special bond between them. His family and
school were two different worlds that he had to learn to live with. His values of family and
education, which I am also able to relate to along with his inner struggle to separate from
the life led by his parents. throughout the essay, I will be discussing the similarities and
differences Rodriguez and I shared, such as, our immigrants parents, the language barrier
between ourselves and our parents, and wanting a better life for ourselves rather than the
life of our parents.
As a child that grew up in Haiti, I could relate to Rodriguez in some ways. My mother
moved me from Haiti to the U.S. when I was about ten years old. My mother always knew
