Generational Interview

Generational Interview

Samantha Ferry

GWS-2000-950

Dr. Brown

February 12, 2012

          Her name, Sharon Lovelady, her age, 42, her childhood pretty normal; for a white female in the 1970’s. Through talking to Sharon I discovered that her childhood and life experiences have definitely shaped who she is today. Through her experiences she has learned who she was, who she is, and who she wants to be. We talked in detail about her childhood experiences, and her ideas and future plans for herself. While reading her story you will discover that she has had a pretty normal life. There were the ups, and then the downs, but overall pretty normal for the ear in which she was born.

            I have noticed that when someone says “childhood experiences “, everyone gets a different image of what they remember as being there childhood. You can ask two siblings in the same house around the same age about their childhood and get two completely different answers. So, I ask you, what is the first thing that comes to mind for you when someone says childhood experiences?  This is what Sharon had to say. “The first thing that comes to mind when I hear childhood experiences is Christmas. Having a big family meant lots of presents from relatives. I had two nieces that were close to my age and we enjoyed Christmas as there was so many new toys to play with. Then there were all the cookies and candy and somebody always got a new sled. So, we all bundled up and went out sledding until dark.” (Lovelady 2012)

            Things have changed so much for children from the 1970’s until now. “Back then we said the pledge of allegiance every day at school, we went door to door collecting for Unicef, and we went trick or treating alone until it got dark and we felt like stopping.” “Now everything has to be so controlled because people no longer trust their neighbors.” “I feel that this really gave me a sense of unity and community when I was younger.” (Lovelady 2012)

            There are three things she enjoyed most about her childhood. They are camping with the family, the last day of school, and the first day of spring. To most people this sounds like a pretty typical childhood. There was only one experience in her childhood that sticks out as negative, and she felt it could have been avoided. There was a house fire in her neighborhood and the children involved blamed it on her. “I was walking home and came up on these other kids playing with cat food and lighters in the old abandoned house up the street. I decided not to stop and went straight home. I should have said something to my mom but I didn’t and the police showed up two hours later accusing me.” ‘If I had only said something the house would still be there and I could have avoided a butt whooping.” (Lovelady 2012)

To me this sounds like a pretty normal childhood. But after reading “When I Was Growing Up”, by Nellie Wong, I believe Sharon only had half the story. For Nellie her childhood was completely different from Sharon’s. “ I know now that once I longed to be white. How? You ask. Let me tell you the ways.”(Wong 1981) “When I was growing up, people would ask if I were Filipino, Polynesian, Portuguese. They named all colors except white, the shell of my soul, but not my dark, rough skin.” (Wong 1981) I cannot imagine growing up this way. With people constantly having to guess and ask what nationality I am.  Here is a little more insight into the life and childhood of Nellie Wong. “When I was growing up and went to high school, I discovered the rich white girls, a few yellow girls, their imported cotton dresses, their cashmere sweaters, their curly hair and I thought that I too should have what these lucky girls had.” (Wong 1981) “When I was growing up, I hungered for American food. American styles, coded: white and even to me, a child born of Chinese was feeling foreign, as limiting, was un-American.” “I know now that once I longed to be white. How many more ways? you ask. Haven’t I told you enough?” (Wong 1981) So, as you can see these two girls have had a completely different experience growing up. Sharon’s was pretty typical for a white girl. Was Nellie’s typical for a Chinese girl?

            In Claiming an Education” by Adrienne Rich, it talks about our responsibility to ourselves. How we should not necessarily always take the path destined for us. Make your own path. Educate yourself and put yourself where you want to be. Demand the education that is rightfully yours. Do not let anyone tell you for any reason that you should not get one, or that you don’t deserve one. And make sure the education you are getting is exactly what you expect. Do not let them be biased to you for any reason. It is yours, you deserve it, now go take it. This is exactly what Sharon is doing. She went to college shortly after college and because of some life changes was not able to finish. She then moved and moved on with her life believing she was happy with the way it was. You always hear these rumors that people are too old to go back to school. That is what Sharon thought. It had been so long since she had been to school she figured it would be too hard for her. After some life changing things happened to her and her family, Sharon decided she wanted to go back to be a psychologist. She wants to be able to help others that may need her help. Against her better judgment of herself she is now enrolled in classes and is doing great. School is difficult for everyone at times, but if you hang in there and don’t give up you will be rewarded in the end.

            So, in the end, everyone is raised differently. Everyone perceives their childhood as good or bad. But whatever the case you can be anything you want to. Will it always be easy? No. Will it always be handed to you on a silver platter as they say? No. You will have to work for it. But the best things in life are not free.

References

Rich, Adrienne Claiming an Education, 1979

Wong, Nellie When I was Growing Up, 1981

Lovelady, Sharon 2012