Ari Min
Narrative Composition Tuesday 11am
December 8, 2015
The Forgotten Pebble
"Either a mother and daughter know each other very well or they are strangers," is a quote from the novel Please Look after Mom by Kyung-sook Shin. I feel sympathy on this quote because it seems to reflect our relationship. Currently, I am in the opposite side of the earth from my parents. My parents are in Guatemala which is located in Latin America. They went to Guatemala on 1991 because of my dad's business. For that reason it is hard to call her frequently and when I call her is when I need something or to tell her something that happened to me. Looking back to all these years, my mom only listened to my stories but I had not had a chance to listen about my mom's life.
I called her through Skype at 11 p.m. when it was 8 a.m. there in Guatemala. I started my interview asking, "Mom could you talk about your childhood?" She responded that she did not come from a wealthy family but the neighborhood she lived in was lively and cozy. The neighbors were amiable and everyone overcame difficulties together as a family. "When I was young we enjoyed to play kusulchigi outside." I interrupted her by asking, "What is that?" She explained that it was a game where you put a pebble inside a circle and hit it so it goes outside the circle. Then I realized that she was talking about the marble game that I used to play when I was young as well. My mom continued, "The time we spent playing went by so fast and it was only after my mom called me for dinner I had realized it was dark."
"What was your dream?" I asked my mom for the first time. Looking me with limpid eyes she said, "My dream was to be an announcer. People often told me I had a lovely voice." She laughed. "In high school I was part of the broadcast team and at work narrated the video introducing our company. I still read books out loud and practice pronunciation. If I have an opportunity to study I would like to go in this path." Listening to my mother talking about her dream made me feel guilty. I had no idea she wanted to be an announcer and I felt worse that I didn't know much about my mom despite knowing her for over 20 years.
As her family was not economically stable, she was forced to work after graduating high school. Even though she wanted to keep on studying, on that moment, she had other priorities. Her father was sick during this period so she had to help with medical expenses. "Every morning when I headed to work, I saw college students from my age in the streets going to their universities. I would watch them in jealousy," my mom said. However despite of it all, my mom tried to at the bright side. She felt proud of herself every time she received her salary, which was used as supplement living expenses. As others took their time on studying for their own good, she used her time to be a support to the family. I knew that my mom hadn't gone to college, but I had no idea it was because of the family had no money.
My mom had to end the call because she had to work. Before hanging up she told me, "Enjoy your time as a student, as it will be the happiest moment of your life. Now go sleep." After the interview I found a newfound motivation to study for not only myself, but also for my mom.
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