To make a pizza, the dough has to be kneaded evenly, the sauce spread sparingly, and the toppings placed perfectly. As an elementary school kid, listening to my dad tell me stories of his childhood became an afterschool pastime. His stories consisted of how he made pizzas at Domino’s for customers, how he grew up engineering his own toys, and how the bond between him and his siblings grew. He told me about his fishing …show more content…
I became envious of my friends living in multiple story houses filled with rooms adorned with family pictures and elaborate furnishings. Unlike everyone else, I didn’t have those typical family pictures because I grew up with my mom and seldom saw my dad. The elaborate furniture had ceased to exist in my household because we consistently moved from apartment to apartment. I wouldn't say I was angry about my family situation. I knew that the time my parents didn’t spend with me at home was spent working multiple jobs in order to support my family, but I couldn’t help but feel …show more content…
Learning about the war forced me to rekindle my childhood memories and replace the deceptive picture my dad painted with the actual occurrences of the time period. During a difficult period in my life, I confided in my aunt, which in turn led to her relaying her own stories from a more factual point of view. My dad, who is from a large family, was left behind as his siblings escaped the war torn country by boat. As a result, he waited ten years until they had raised money to send him to America. Despite the difficulties, all he could do was move forward, which resonates with why my dad avoided talking about his unfortunate circumstances. This was when I realized that he engineered his own toys because he couldn’t afford any, and that the strong bonds among him and his siblings existed because some of them were also left behind. Everything else was just his positive mindset.
At first, I was disappointed that my dad hid his childhood from me, but I understood why he did it. When people look at my academic achievements, they don’t see the entirety of my background. Instead they see who I am and what I aim to achieve. Within the past few years, my dad has left working at Domino's to became a taxi driver, but is now aiming to create his own transportation company. His drive to push himself beyond his circumstances have taught me that the extent