Good example of essay on life of women of two generations

Imagine waking up in the morning, first thing you smell are those fresh tortillas, that Manuela’s mother, Mrs. Theresa Hernandez, used to prepare before going to work in the evenings from 6: 00 p. m. to 7: 00 a. m. in a Super-Wal-Mart which was close to where she lived. Theresa had never had formal education. She had barely finished ninth grade. Her weekly work schedule was from Monday to Friday. Each day, Theresa came home in the mornings to go to bed. She used to get out of the car of a friend who dropped her off from work because she never learned how to drive. Yet, no matter how tired she came home, she smiled every time she saw her five girls getting ready to be picked up by the school bus. On the other hand, Manuela worked in a local hospital from 7: 00a. m to 7: 00p. m on weekends only because she attended college during the mornings each weekday to complete her higher education. She has her own car and drives herself to college and to work. Manuela has three boys, two teenagers, and a nine year old. Manuela’s teenagers drive their own cars, and she drives her nine year old to school every morning. Manuela and her mother had very different experiences when both were forty. When Manuela compares and contrasts her life with Theresa’s at the age of forty, it is apparent that Manuela’s life is easier in the areas of transportation, employment, education, and family. To begin with, there is a significant difference in Manuela’s and Theresa’s education at forty. Theresa did not have a high school education or any college degree. Theresa had dropped out of high school at the age of fourteen because she had to support her parents. On the other hand, Manuela earned her high school diploma, and she is pursuing her college degree as well. Manuela remembers that before she got her high school diploma, her mother said to her, “ Mija, you are doing very well in school. Never give up. Also do not let anyone stop you from getting your education.” At the age of forty, Manuela appreciated her mother’s advice. Even though Theresa does not have high school diploma, she was very disciplined with her kids, making sure they did their schoolwork because she knew school was very important. At the same time, her mother knew how to communicate with neighbors, because she was a single mom raising three girls on her own. She even had to call her brother Robert for help around the house for maintenance and yard work. Manuela has known the experience of connecting with her husband to take care of the house and yard. Far-off from education, Manuela and her mother’s life, at the age of forty, are unlike in the realm of employment. Manuela‘ s mother has never earned more than twelve thousand dollars a year. Given the difference in education, there is also a difference in the income of the mother compared to her daughter at the same age. The thirty thousand dollars salary that Manuela makes yearly makes her mother’s income look like peanuts. On top of that, Manuela’s family income includes her husband’s salary, while her mother had to rely totally on her own income. Theresa worked as a waitress and also as a cashier. As a wife, Manuela did not have to work many hours, but Theresa did not have a choice and had to support her family. Manuela took her mother’s advice, “ education always comes first, do not let no one hold you back.” Although there is an obvious difference between Manuela and her mother in education and employment, they were very similar when it came to motherhood at the age forty. The effect was how devoted they were to their family. This made a big impression in their lives with their kids and Manuela‘ s husband. Manuela and her mother were always putting their kids first, when it came to education and work. Whenever Manuela thinks about her and her mother’s life at age forty, Manuela feels an ever increasing respect and love for her mother. Also, when Manuela is left without car and needs to go to and from work or school, she finds herself taking the bus and appreciates life itself. Manuela desires to change her mother’s personal views of education and employment. But, most of all, She desires, that in the future, her grandchildren, maybe even her kids must move past the idea of just taking care the of their family but must also learn to deal with and appreciate everything that life gives on the way.