Best Of Both Worlds

757 Words4 Pages
Most people only get to come from one background, whether it be an affluent life or an underprivileged life. The environment in which they are raised becomes a part of their identity. I was blessed with two lives and like yin and yang, my two contrasting backgrounds balance each other out. My first life is with my unstable Japanese mother where I had to play the role of the adult. My second life is with a wealthy, Jewish family where I got to be a child again. Our two different spheres collided into one when I moved in with my new “family” and I found a moderate center in the midst of these two extremes. From the friendly smile, the cheery laughter, and quiet politeness, nobody would associate pain nor adversity with me. I once lived with my single mother who barely spoke English, changed jobs as often as she dyed her hair, suffered from bipolar disorder, and was almost deported out of the United States. Unfortunately, the best word to describe her is “dysfunctional.” I had to take care of the both of us my whole life and it was almost as if I was the adult and she was the child. My mother lacked judgement and demonstrated poor prioritization skills when she worried about her wrinkles more than our lack of proper housing. Clueless when it came to life in America, she let other people decide her future and took every wrong path until she hit a dead end. I watched her helplessly, as she drank away her sorrows and withered away into depression. Despite the heartaches of a broken family, I gained maturity and independence. I understand how scared she must have been, having to raise me by herself and being uncertain about our future, but that is what life is: unpredictable. And I never would have predicted that I would someday be living with a white, Jewish family. I met the Gold family when I met my best friend Janie Gold in elementary school. When my life crumbled
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