The Meaning of Work

In the story, "The Meaning of Work" by Rodrigo Joseph Rodriguez, talks a how his father wants him to "work in air-conditioning". I believe this means that despite the fact that his father worked as a pipe fitter he still wanted his son to have an easier time at work. His father worked hard through out his life so his child's life would be easier. Rodriguez wants his son to know the meaning of work by watching his father work so hard, he does not want his son to do what he does. Rodriguez grew up watching his father work so hard so he knows the meaning of hard work.

Bricklayers Boy

In the essay, "Bricklayer's Boy" by Alfred Lubrano he talks a lot about blue collared people compared to white collared people. I feel like I can relate more with blue collared people. I have had the experience of speaking with both white and blue collared people but most of my time is with blue collared people. Growing up I was always around a blue collared business since my family owns a bar. then i even started working there and seeing more people like that too. A lot of the customers are construction workers and I see how their lives are too. I thin I would say that I respect the blue collared culture more than the white collared culture. I feel that they know the real meaning of hard work and understand that they are doing what they are doing for a reason, money and to support their families. Even though white collared are doing the same thing, they are not physically working. I would consider myself to be in the blue collared culture. The disadvantages of living a blue collared life is that you have to work very hard in the physical aspect. sometimes depending on the job, you have to work outside in all different types of weather. most of the time you will be dirty and tired when you get home. On the other hand, the advantages of a blue collared life would be that in most cases you can go to trade school instead of college which is shorter and cheaper. Also, there are plenty of blue collared jobs out there for people to get. In my opinion, the father in this story was always just looking out for his families best interest. All he wanted was the best for them and that is why he worked so hard throughout his life.

Mothers Tongue

In this short story "Mothers Tongue" by Amy tan really showed me how many people struggle on a daily basis with communicating with others who do not speak their language. Amys mother had a very difficult time communicating with people who spoke English since she was from China. Amy would serve as a translator or even in some cases pretend to be her mother. In some cases she was looked down upon and some people had a skewed  perception on her abilities from her "broken" English.
This reminds me of a time when i was in school. there was a boy who came into my class half way through the year from Japan. He barely spoke English at all. Everyone tried to be friendly with him at first but they all gave up after he couldn't communicate back with them. I tried everyday and by the end of the year we were friends and he learned so much! He was so smart and he even helped me with my math work and i would help him with his English. All the other students believed that he didn't speak English that he wasn't intelligent enough to be friends with. I didn't think that was fair at all. I  learned that everyone is smarter in some areas than others. I definitely believe that the way people speak affect the way people perceive their skills and abilities; even though it is not fair.    

Chapter 1"And Then I Went to School"

The short story, "And Then I Went to School" by Joseph H. Suna was very interesting to me. A young Indian boy named Joseph Henry was living in a small village with family and friends. He felt strong and smart in his town but once he went to school with other children from different ethnicities, he did not feel the same way. He felt small and simple minded. Joseph was not used to people not speaking his language. He was living away from home as he got older due to getting an education. He really missed his family and friends from his village and once he came home for break he realized it was not the same. He was becoming accustomed to the "white man's ways". Joseph realized his home town was inefficient and he was comfortable in his new life but he would always still love his home. I enjoyed this story because i found the theme to be never forget where you came from. It is so important to stay grounded and never be something that you don't want to be. If you stay true to your values you will go far in this world. throughout this story Josephs life got better because he was expanding his horizons. he was viewing the world in a different way. This scenario is similar to all of us going to college. We are not used to these ways yet but we will become accustomed to this lifestyle eventually. We can never forget where we came from and all of the beliefs and values that we learned while growing up. attending college will provide me with a better life because i will receive and education that will lead me to a career to start my life. I will have to sacrifice the comfort i had at home with my house, car and friends. I will miss all of these aspects greatly but, I know that I will still have them when I come home after I get my education, which always comes first.