The Corner

There’s a saying in poor Chinese families that when a man gets to the top, all his relatives rise to high positions. I do believe it, and I have been practicing it for many years. Maybe some of the adolescents who were born after the 1980s might not think that there would be differences between the city and country. However, people living in the country do hope that someone in their family can get out for their dreams. In the meanwhile, those working in the cities have responsibilities to the whole family. The Economic Opening of China has changed the lives of most of the Chinese in cities. Nevertheless, the village children still open their eyes widely to the skyscrapers for their curious feelings. It happened to me when I was sixteen years old. My father traveled to America and stayed here. His working in the US changed the route that my family was supposed to walk along.

As a boy at that time, I felt like I was a released prisoner when my father told me that there would be no farming anymore. Each year, when the harvest time came, I couldn’t help remembering the times I worked in the field. It was true that poor children had to work with their family when they reached the age of five. As for me, I first held up a farming tool when I was seven, and I wouldn’t forget that I cut my finger a few minutes after I walked into the field. After the first attempt, a lot of work came and pushed me down. Thus, it’s so easy to think how happy I was when my father left for America. The standard of living in my family had changed. I didn’t need to bend in the rain, I wouldn’t blame the evil sunshine, and I wouldn’t cry over the work in a mountain of sugarcane.

I should be thankful for my continuing studies after middle school since my father came to America. It was uneasy for a poor family to afford to educate their children. Many children in the village had to stop their studies after middle school, and then they left their homes and worked in strange cities. I didn’t have to drop out because my father traveled to America when I was in middle school. My family could afford the tuition and living expenses of my studies from the time he left. Although I still complain about the incident that happened years ago when my parents broke my hope the moment I got into a better school, I felt lucky that I got into high school and university after that. In my career as a student, I learned a lot that my childhood friends lost the chance to learn. It was all about fate and chance, I thought as a boy who was born in the country.

The most important turning point for me was the immigration of my family after my father’s arrival in the U.S. It totally changed my life, from a country youth to a man living in a big city. For most of the people in my hometown, living in a foreign country is better than everything. However, for us, we are behind the start line and beginning to walk across it. If my father hadn’t taken the opportunity of travelling here, I would still be walking on the road beside the hills or working hard in a factory, but now I’m faced with the avenues filled with cars. The smells that come out from the cars do not depress me, nor does the noise of the running trains make me upset. What I am supposed to do is appreciating and enjoying my new life.

There are many times when people walk to the corner. Most of them may change everything because they step on new roads. I still believe that life is easier when someone is the pathfinder before you and keeps on going in front of you. If someone asked me why people desire to immigrate to foreign countries, I would tell him a story about a crying boy in the field, a depressed student holding a certificate, and a whole family looking forward to reunion. Also, people in the cities should take a glance at the corner of the world. There are so many begging voices that they have never heard before. I dare to say my father’s coming to the US has played an important part in my life. At least, thanks to my father, I can breathe in the crowd that is full of new faces.