The Perfect Family: Has Secrets

In the article "Looking for Work" by Gary Soto, the author writes in the point of view of a young Mexican boy living in America. In this article the young boy wants nothing more than to be like the family in the television show "Leave it to Beaver", because he thinks the family life is ideal and that the people in the show are so much happier. I feel as though many people misconstrue what they see on television programs or here on the radio for solid facts. People are always wishing that they had someone else's life, because they only see the outward appearances or fronts that the family is putting up. Behind closed doors everyone has secrets, take my family for instance, all of my brother and my friends love our parents and are always telling us that they wish our parents were theirs, but they do not have to live with them, the tense pressure my dad emits when he comes home from work or the ditzy, idiosyncrasies my mother goes through on a daily bases. Concerning our family dinners, they do not exist, we only have family dinners on holidays or very special occasions, if that, because everyone in my family is so busy working or running errands to make some extra money, that we normally do not have the energy or time to want to sit down with one another, let alone talk with one another. I do agree with the ideal that working and earning money does give you a since of achievement, there is nothing better than knowing that your hard work throughout the day is paying off. Reading this article also made me think of a photograph I have once seen, the photo was taken during the great depression, it was a huge line of people waiting for food, but they happened to be in front of a California billboard promoting the perfect family living in the "greatest place on earth." This article shows how every person aspires for the perfect family, but also that many do not realize that they already have one.