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Breaking Free Narrative

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Submitted By delaneyalim
Words 1197
Pages 5
Delaney Lim
ENGL 134-07
10 April 2012
Breaking Free
Do your homework, don’t go to bed too late, do this, don’t do that. Raised in the typical sheltered, strict, and old-fashioned Chinese manner, my mother and father have always been the type to nag me about everything: grades, boys, clothes, chores, etc. Both immigrants from Singapore, they have always pestered my sister and I to work hard, since they came to this country with almost nothing and struggling their way up. In high school, they were members of the PTA, and participated in a majority of my school events. They also attended all of my volleyball games and track meets, whereas most of the girls’ parents hardly ever went. I rarely saw my friends’ parents around and every time that would happen I would think to myself, “Why are my parents always here?” It’s not fun as a high school teenager to have your parents participate in every aspect of your life. I compared my life constantly to my best friend Marissa’s life. She lived in a white household, with deaf parents. She ate what she wanted to eat, while my parents put me on a strict diet. She had fun and went to sleepovers, while I stayed home and did homework. She had permission to stay out late on Friday nights with guy friends, whereas I was forced to lie to my parents because I could not have “boyfriends”. I wasn’t even allowed to highlight my hair like Marissa, without getting a lecture about how my natural hair is pretty already and that I would regret it in the future. I really did not understand why my parents would not let me do half the things Marissa could get away with so easily. I figured that it was just a typical Asian thing, and that’s when I despised having Chinese parents. In some cases, I really appreciated them being there for me; however most of the time, I just wanted them out of my business, like how most teenagers feel. My parents

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