In “The Money” the Dominican writer and winner of many awards such as the Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur, Junot Diaz, describes and narrates a life event that happened to him when he lived with his family in a fortuneless neighborhood in New Jersey. In the first paragraph Diaz communicates to his readers his family fiscal situation and how although neither his mother nor his father had a stable job, his mom always set money apart from the daily household expenses to send to her parents in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; making even worst the penurious situation. His mother keeps her savings in a safe place or how Diaz call it in “the forbidden stash” (Diaz 114), when Diaz says that “but we also knew that to touch it would have meant a violent punishment approaching death” (Diaz 114) this phrase gives to the readers an idea of how important that money was to his mother.
When, Diaz was twelve years old, the family went on a vacation, when they came back they found a horrendous surprise at their house, as Diaz described it “looked as if had been tornado-tossed” (Diaz 115) their house was a complete disaster, somebody with a criminal mind broke into their property to steal, incident that didn’t surprise them because in that neighborhood incidents like that one were pretty normal. This robbery really affects his mother, because the thief stole an envelope with all her savings, reason why she cursed everyone. Days after the robbery Diaz was talking to his friends about the past event when he got this feeling of distrust because of the facetious way they were acting; was there when he knew that one of his friends have committed the crime, and he decided to pay him back in the same way, breaking into his house and getting back what belonged to his family. Diaz found his mother’s money and his D.&D. Books under the mattress, and he got it all back. He was seriously thinking about keeping that money because at the end her mom didn’t count with it anymore, he felt guilt and gave it back to her hopping that she felt happy and full of joy but nothing happened his mom didn’t show any emotions, didn’t congratulate him or at least say thank you to him, and here is where I felt some connection to Diaz story, not because some thief had stolen anything from my home ; because one day I hopped too much from my mother, and I got nothing.
As Junot Diaz I came from an immigrant family, four years ago when I was fourteen years old my parents and I came to this country as most of the immigrants looking for better opportunities, better life conditions, to get a better future and trying to reach the American dream, but the main reason why my parents made that decision was for my education and my professional future. When, you have to see all the effort that your parents are doing for you, when your mom said that she doesn’t like certain food because she knows that you love it and there’s enough for only one person, when you see your father stays up all night no matter how cold or dark the room is thinking about any possible way to give the family better life conditions; in that point of my life I knew that the least thing I could do to pay them back for all those years of unconditionally effort and support was becoming a strong woman with a professional career and full of dreams. There wasn’t most great thing in the whole world to my parents that see how well I was doing at school, how hard I was trying to learn the new language, and the moments when I came through the door with my quizzes on hand because I got a good grade
High school was a wonderful experience for me, I can say that it was a period of infinity mental growing and change of perspective about life. In, High School I started to see things in a more responsibly way and I realized that I was even closer to make important decision that will have real impact in my future. I started it with my goals pretty clear, a little nervous and with an incredible feeling of lost because I was in a new country, with a new language and surrounded by people with a different culture; but I was very focus on getting good grades and pass all the exams, so I can get to go to the university. Since, I started 9th grade in all my English classes the only thing that we talked about was passing the SAT or ACT to graduate. It became a big monster on my mind, I was terrified about taking this test. The only thing that I said to myself was that how I pretended to pass it when people that were born here and knew the language couldn’t. After all, I gave myself some inspiration and this test became a challenge for me. Time flied, and the big day came, the day that I was going to take the SAT. I remember that I woke up so early that sunny morning, I drunk all my hot chocolate milk, and I went to school like forty minutes before the test start. The weather was cold although the sun was shining like no other day, for most of the students it was a regular boring school day but for us the 11th graders the most important and decisive day of our High School experience have come. When I arrived to my assigned classroom where I was going to take my examination, it felt like a totally new school for me, my hands were swatting, and I haven’t seen that teacher before in all my years in that school.
Everyone was quiet, the sits were distant one from another, and the teacher had written the rules on the board. This atmosphere made me more nervous and impatient I haven’t experience nothing like this before. When I got the test on my hands I could smell the new paper fragrance and the room became colder, I was pretty sure it was a mental thing because I was super anxious. Before I started the test, I took a deep breath and thanked God just for the opportunity to be there. During, the test all I heard were the pencils writing at light speed on the papers, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how time I had left. Those were the most exhausting four hours of my life, I finished the test, and I can’t explain the enormous relief that I felt when I step out of that room. I knew that I did good on the test, but I had that feeling of insecurity inside me, it was time to wait until the result arrive. After a few months of study hard and never stop of becoming a better me, the results were here.
My guidance counselor called me to her office I thought it was a regular talk until she congratulated me, and told me that I pass the SAT, maybe for some people it was nothing but for me it was the better new that I could receive at that time. I couldn’t wait to get home and tell this to my mom, when I got home she was there lied on the couch watching tv almost falling asleep I waked her up and told that a pass the examn, the one that I have been so worried about during all those years, and after I shared my result with her the only thing that she told me was that, study was my responsibility, the only thing that I had to have in mind, and for the next time she wants me to get a better score because my future depens that. I felt disappointed, I was expecting her to congratulate me and told me that I did a good job as she did many times before, this experience make me realize that I can’t stop trying to get the best out of me and no matter how good I did something I have to continue trying until it gets better. Also I learn that I have to be proud of myself, there’s no better person in the world to see my failures and archivements than myself, when I expect too much from people I get disappointments , because not everyone see the world in the same way , things that maybe for me are significant for others doesn’t mean anything and that I have to celebrate my own victories and don’t wait for someone else to do it for me
