Blog Post Number 4

I really enjoyed Kingsolver’s piece Letter to a Daughter at Thirteen. This piece really had an impact on me and my emotions: I could not get through this reading without tearing up. The letter was so personal but so relatable at the same time. Mother daughter relationships are very valuable and important, and reading this letter really allowed me to get a feel of how my mother feels about me. I believe there was no better way to write what this letter was trying to express. It was so on-point and perfect. 

I loved how the mother watched her daughter from a distance and tried to not intervene with her daughters decisions. The trust the mother had for her daughter was just the right amount. The mother had faith in her daughter to make the proper decisions.

I loved the contrast Barbara makes between herself as a thirteen-year old and her daughter now as a thirteen year old. It seems that everything she wished she was as a teenager is what her daughter is now, naturally. Looking back in her yearbook, she realizes that she was not as ugly or insignificant as she felt she was. Her daughter seems to have all the confidence that she wished she had, and she almost takes that confidence and learns from her daughter. I love the fact that they are learning from each other.            

    

                I loved how Barbara does not get too involved with her daughters decision making, and has enough confidence in her daughter to make the right decisions. This trust is so important and priceless, and makes me realize that my mother raised me the same way. I now understand that my mom trusted me enough to make the proper decisions in my life.

These readings we have been doing in class have really made me start thinking about all that my mother has done for me. My mom is a stay-at-home mom raising five children. Growing up, I was aware that my mom was great and strong but did not really fully understand all of the hard work and daily sacrifices she made just for her five children. My mother and I do have a great relationship, but we don’t exactly express our love for each other in sentimental ways. I think that is why I got so emotional while reading this, because I imagined my mother writing this for me personally.  I have learned so much from my mother, and I understand now that it goes both ways.  This letter has made me understand things that my mother goes through in raising children.

There were so many quotes from this letter that I found important (the whole reading is practically highlighted!) but for the blog I wish to share this one:

“You never did, it seems. You like who you are, you work hard at whatever you do, you’re kind to your friends, you show compassion for the world. You’re a person I’d choose as a friend even if we weren't related. I actually like the ways you’re turning out different from me; your confidence and smart-aleck wit inspire me.”  (156)

I chose this quote because the mother looking up to her daughter for having so much confidence in herself, something that she lacked at her age, and honoring who she is as an individual. I feel that sometimes parents want their children to be a certain way, or behave just like them. This is not the case for Barbara and her daughter. Barbara understands and accepts her daughter and praises her for being who she is. The part where she confesses that she would chose her as a friend is also extremely meaningful. She is basically stating that biased relations aside, she approves of her as an individual so much that she is somebody that she would want to spend time around if she were to be someone else. It just says so much about how her mom feels about her. 

For the media portion of my blog, I had a hard time deciding what to choose. I finally decided to share a song from Aerosmith that reminds me of my mother. She is a huge fan of Aerosmith and this song reminds me of her. I love you mom!