Independence From Our Family

Everyone dreams about the different independences you gain over time. You gain independence when you enter high school. You gain even more independence when you receive your license. And then the ultimate independence comes after high school graduation: college. In the story “Everyday Use”, Dee goes off to college and asserts her independence from her family. She changes the view she has of her family and her heritage. I don’t believe that the view I have of my family has changed since I’ve been in college and I don’t believe it ever will.

Before I left for UD this past August, I never pictured myself missing my family as much as I do now. I could not wait to leave and move on with my life. I needed a change of environment. But now that I’ve been here at UD for almost six months now, I’m beginning to realize how much I actually miss my family. I’m even starting to miss my little sister who is a complete pain the majority of the time I’m around her.

Dee, on the other hand, had a much different experience than the one that I’ve had. She realized her family’s imperfections and came to the conclusion that she no longer wanted to be like them. Her college experience led her to believe that since she was the only educated one in her family, she was better than her other family members. She has become disgusted with her family’s lifestyle and feels that they could be making much more out of their lives than they already are. Her patience and tolerance of them has grown very low and becomes quick to anger with them as well.

Although Dee and I may have started out to have the same idea of college, our views are completely different now. When she returned home from college, she was a changed person who no longer approved of her family and lost the ability to communicate with her family. I don’t believe that I will turn out this way. My family and I get along great and communicate very well through emails, phone calls, text messages, and sometimes even random cards. If there is one thing that I’ve learned since I’ve been at UD, it is communication with those at home. I honestly don’t believe that I would ever be embarrassed of my family enough to change my name and deny my family history. A little independence from your family is good but, complete independence is just disrespectful.