Mesosystem : My Mothers And Grandmothers

My grandparents raised me when I was young because my parents were busy toiling away at work to support my siblings and I. Through my grandparents, I learned strength. My grandfather, a former political activist and soldier in Vietnam, suffered a gigantic loss: Losing the Vietnam war. Still, he refused to kneel under the hand of oppression. He restarted his life in a brand new, foreign country with seven children,

I grew up watching my mother strive to give me a better life and become a better person. Amongst great difficulty, she decided to finish school and attend university. Her hard work and determination have marked and defined my life. Every day she had to work, then go to university and later take care of me. She excelled in every aspect of her life, teaching me that the impossible is overcome through hard work and

I lived in a small trailer home with my mom, dad, older brother and younger brother. I loved that little trailer, even if it was not the best, I still called it home. Even though I loved that place, there were times when I noticed that my parents would struggle financially and they wanted us to have more than a little home, they wanted the best for us. There were also personal difficult obstacles we had to overcome as a family. As a result, my mom went back into college to study for a Registered Nurse. I didn’t spend as much time with my mom as one child wishes they could, but I knew she was working lots of hours and going to class just to be able to give us the life she thought we deserved. The same applies for my dad, I knew he would come home from work in pain, exhausted, but he was doing it all for his kids. As I was growing up and noticing these things about them, I began to admire them and loved how

My grandmother, Esther Turner, has impacted my life in more ways than just simply being there for me, as a grandmother. She’s much more than that, in my eyes. Being the eldest of three, I’ve always taken on more responsibility as the older sister. It was my job to show my little brother and sister which paths were safe to take in this wild, confusing maze called life. At times, I felt like a mother myself, and at a young age, I found myself slightly intimidated by all the responsibilities that were laid on my shoulders. The main person I could talk to freely and openly, without judgment, was my grandmother. We have always been able to speak to each other about any and everything, nothing was off limits. That’s what I think brought us so close, the fact that she accepted me entirely for the person I presented to her.

Nevertheless, it was challenging for a single mother to raise three kids without financial and emotional support. At that time my mother was a housekeeper, and she and my father divorced when I was six-years old. She is a tenacious women. Moreover, she is supportive, hardworking and possesses a magnificent sense of humor. While I was in school, my mother worked long hours and by the time I arrived home she barely had energy to cook dinner, or check out my academic progress. However, even when she was mentally and physically exhausted, she always cooked for me and my

Eventually they got a nice brand new truck later on with what they saved, got more money, and could actually afford something new and nice. Well my “apa” was getting better jobs, he literally started from the bottom and worked his way to the top he had a really good job that payed for what they need and for what they sometimes wanted. It was a really good job that he had because they had a nice house, nice clothes and food at the table. I thank my grandpa for everything he showed me because if it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t have a roof over our heads. He had eight children in total, my grandma never had to get a job, my “apa”was the only one that worked.

My mother has always had major health issues, going in and out of hospitals all the time, but she wouldn't go down without a fight, and luckily, we still have her here with us. Any mother would want the best for her children, so one day my mom dropped everything in Reynosa and decided to move here, to the United States, in order to give us more opportunities and a real chance to succeed. Therefore, my parents have taught me to be the responsible, strong, and hard working person I am today.

Growing up trying to deal with the everyday problems and still trying to enjoy life, but forgetting to sit down and talk to their child about their day at school. Paying attention to the things they like to wear, eat and knowing their favorite color. Missing out on all those possessions causes a big gap to form and leave lost memories of what should have been. Grandparents picks up the slack with their grandchildren after learning from their mistakes with their

My parents are the most influential aspect of my life. Since I was young, I enjoyed hearing stories of their immigration from Poland. They began from scratch, with barely a college education to their names and they found work as janitors. My parents strived, however, to take advantage of America's opportunities. Throughout their thirty years in America, my parents brought life to my sister and I, found better jobs, brought a home and managed to encourage their children to succeed. They taught me everything, from washing dishes correctly to solving difficult mathematical equations. They were the best teachers I ever had. The story of Jolanta and Richard Telesz has always been my favorite because it gives me motivation to succeed. Whenever I

To see my parents always working and worrying for our future was so hard to see we would pray every night. The thing they always made sure they had money for is for our school and the utensils we needed for school. This was a very tough part in my life because me and my sister were always worried are we ever going to get, are we ever going to help our parents live a better life. When my sister turned sixteen she had to get her first job to help my parents out and it started to get a little

My grandmother, a single parent, has provided for me, my brother and two sisters over the past years; now it is my turn to take care of her. She taught me that education is extremely valuable. Questioning that belief, I joined the Army at seventeen, which taught me to defend others which led to my pursuit of criminal justice. Learning something new each day is the greatest gift of knowledge. My grandmother said the main thing a person needs to succeed is drive and passion. Her accomplishments showed me the importance of being independent and doing what you love, which impacted my life. She is what you could call “the rock” of our family she keeps

Mom would do anything in her power to help someone if they needed help. We had been traveling down the road and saw someone who needed help and mom would always stop to see if they needed anything. Most of the time it was either to use a cell phone or some cash. Mom did what she could and gave what she had. My grandparents would do the same thing. My family always try to put others before themselves. Doing what they could to pay it forward and never getting anything in return. However, it always made me proud to see them doing things for other people. They always try to set the best example for me. Now it is my turn to do that with my daughter.

Watching my mother live from pay check to pay check when I was young was difficult. It was always hard for my mom to keep up with other parents but, she still somehow managed to get me everything I wanted, and more. Even though I was too young to understand, I could feel the stress, and the struggles my mom faced every day. She was only 20 years old when I was born and, because of that she had no choice but to grow up fast. At such a young age, I saw the effects of being a single parent, and the ways it changed my mom. She not only had to be a young mother but, she had to find a way to replace the void of a father, or a father figure in my life. My mom was strong, independent and courageous. Growing up watching her live her dreams under all the circumstances she faced, made me want to strive for a better life for myself. Seeing how hard is was to live and to have enough

My grandma was a mother of three. She had my Aunt heather, Aunt Angie, and my mother. She raised my mother and Heather while going to college, which is a fight on its own, but to make it more difficult, she had hodgkins and had spent over an entire year fighting it in Iowa’s childrens hospital and held victory her senior year.. The chances of surviving hodgkins in the 60’s was around 75% and wasn’t the end for my Grandma, she lived to fight another day. Moving on in her life,She spent most of her time studying, she graduated high school on the top of her class, then going to college of hamilton for business. During that time, she had my mom and my Aunt Heather on the way.

When I was eight years old my parents separated, and they got officially divorced when I was twelve. After my parents separated, my mother took on being a single-parent. My father gave up all his rights to my sister and I. Prior to my parents separating, my family was considered upper-middle class. My dad worked as a computer engineer, and my mom was a stay at home mother. After my parents split, my sister and I went from having everything to nothing in a day. My mom had to move back in with her parents until she could find a full-time job and a place for us to live. Because I have seen my mother struggle as a single-mother, I matured a lot faster than most children my age. Even though we struggled with money growing up, my mother always made it a point to go on vacation yearly with my sister and I; I have been to over 30 states because my mom loves to road trip. Additionally, it has always been a family tradition of ours to go to the state fair every year. Because of my family experience growing up, I am very independent. I also learned to appreciate the little things in life. My mom always taught my sister and I that time spent with family is far more valuable than materialistic things. My mother and I are very close to this day, and I will forever be grateful for everything she has done for my sister and me.