The Different Between My Father and My Childhood

The Difference between My Childhood and My Father's Childhood

My father and I had very different upbringings. One reason was my father came from a very poor family. He had ten siblings, which made money for his family very tight. He was the second oldest child, so when he turned fourteen he had to stop going to school and begun working to help support his family. Compared to my father's childhood mine was easier. I am glad my father was able to support me. I did not have to quit school at an early age to get a job to support my family. My father was not able to have a childhood; fortunately, I was able to have a better childhood than he had. My father had to take on responsible early in his childhood. My father did not want me to take on my responsible to early in my life.

The difference in my childhood compared to my father's childhood is that, I have the use of modern machines such as washer and dryer, inside running water, and many appliances lying around the house that made my life a lot easier. My father on the other hand had none of these modern machines so he had to do manual labor. For example, my father had to bring buckets of water from the well for his sisters to wash the dirty clothes. They used a big washtub to wash out their clothes and hang them on clotheslines to dry. I cannot see myself washing clothes in a washtub or carrying buckets of water, I am too spoiled.

My father did not have the same opportunity that I had when it come to education. I do not think that his family was concerned about his education. Education was not one of their top priorities. Working to put foods on the table and keeping a roof over their head were their priorities. My father did not play with me when it came to my education. He was harder on me when it came to my education, because he did not get a chance to finish school himself. For example, my father use to tell me that he would accept A's, B's, but not C's. I asked him why he would not accept a C's, he responded, "C's are for an average child and that he was not raising me to be average; he was raising me to be above average."

Therefore, I graduated from high school with a 3.6 GPA, and started college. I will always remember one very important thing my father said to me about my education, "education is not limited to the classroom; education is your ability to use what you have learned to be better today than you were yesterday." He also told me that, "No matter how much you know or how you learn it, the ultimate goal of education is giving 'you' greater insight to 'yourself.' "

The responsibility of my father's childhood was a lot different from my childhood responsibility. Our responsibilities have changed throughout my father and my life. For example,