Cause and Effect - Dawson

 

Sunday, November 3, 2024

Cause and Effect - Dawson

Weichen Zhang

ESL 100

October 7, 2024

Fresh off the Boat

The wheels of history roll forward all the time, and the river of time never stops flowing. A little dust from the times can weigh like a mountain on an individual’s shoulders. In my country, China, there was a nationwide economic inflation that influenced the price of food and energy around 2016 and 2017. This inflation was caused by the extreme weather and the rise in global oil prices. The pressure of living forced my parents to make a bold decision, which would change the whole family’s fate. My father came to the United States to earn more money and tried to get a green card. This was the beginning of a new road which is filled with hope and challenges. The ending of the road would not only change one person’s life but also change the future of the family.

One effect was that my family could gain the financial security and the foundation of life after we immigrated to the United States. In my hometown, Shenyang, which is the capital of the province, my parents needed to work very hard to get by because the price of food and energy increased rapidly. The prices of everything increased except my parents’ salary. Food and energy in the United States are cheaper than in China, and my family could survive with only my father’s salary, which was impossible to achieve in my hometown. As a result, my parents’ lives have become a lot less stressful. The effects don’t just include less stress. Financial security has given my family more chances and choices. For example, my mother can now learn the language and skills which can help her look for a job rather than working all day, and my father also has enough money to support my college education.

One of the most important effects of these changes has been my ability to receive a better education and secure a better future. I have a deep feeling about the difference between Chian and United States. I always felt a lot of pressure in Chinese schools, even in primary school. Ther were many students in each class, fifty or sixty, and I needed to compare myself to them based on my grades. Tests in Chinese’s students mind are not tests. They are like war because students’ grades would be shown in front of the whole class, and parents will be proud of children’s grades too. In contrast, there are not as many students in American schools as in China, and grades are private. I don’t have to compete with so many students in the class. Overall, I feel so thankful to my father that the shift let me experience a completely different world, and l can have more choices for my life not just focusing on my grades.

Regardless of the stress of family’s finances and educational environment, my family reunion has had a very influential effect on me too. My father left home when l was in primary school, and he was absent from my youth. I seldom talked to him on the phone because I thought the phone couldn’t take my father’s place in my heart. My father’s picture in my mind gradually became unclear, which was like a faded painting. When my mother and I met my father in Chicago’s airport, my feelings were complex, and I felt happy and sad at the same time. It felt like I had been in a ling dream, and now I woke up. My mother didn’t show any strong emotion about this reunion, and I think her happiness didn’t need to be shown by action or words. This reunion made me realize that family ties exist all the time. I couldn’t feel it in the past, but now I know that my family will stay together to face all the challenges and difficulties in life.

Although the mountains of the times are very heavy, people in history are not like leaves that can be blown away by the mind. Everyone is fighting with persistence, striving to break free from the shackless of fate. The power of courage comes from love, faith and determination in people’s hearts, just like my family. We bravely started a new road and kept going year after year, and their sacrifices were rewarded. The foundation of life, educational environment and reunion proved my family’s courage in the past and hope in the future. The spirit will continue guiding us to write an even more glorious chapter in our lives.