「故事·听力」My Parents Raised Us In Different Ways
My Parents Raised Us In Different Ways
This girl’s name is Christine, and she has a super-enraging story to tell. The thing is, her parents are a bit traditional about bringing up girls, and her story is about how she had a hard time battling against this.
Christine lives together with her parents and her older brother Ed. He’s just a couple of years older than her, and now they’re both teenagers. Her parents are very nice towards both of them, but this niceness doesn’t come out in the same way with her and as it does towards Ed. Both her parents have a traditional approach to family values – a man is the head of the family, the breadwinner, and the woman is supposed to obey him. It’s not as horrible as it sounds. She respect the choices her parents have made in life. But unfortunately, it became a big problem for her when it comes to how they raised their children.
Ed and Christine certainly don’t hate each other. He’s a very good, caring brother and she loves him a lot. But she also envies him a great deal. The point is, since her early childhood her parents have always been strict towards Christine. She was supposed to have a well-scheduled day – diligent studies, domestic chores, a couple of hours with some approved girl, playing dolls under her parents’ watchful eye, and home no later than 7pm. It all sounds ok until you compare this routine with Ed’s, who could do whatever he liked with whoever he liked at any time of the day!
She actually couldn’t understand what the drastic difference was between her and Ed – ok, he’s a boy and is a couple of years older, but they basically had the same needs – to relax, to chill, sometimes to disobey. However, life wasn’t that simple. Take housework for example. Ed could have a rest whenever he liked, whereas Christine was supposed to do domestic chores every day even if she was tired or not in the mood. When Ed ate something, mom called her to wash his dishes. “Excuse me, why can’t he do it, these are HIS dishes?” Her mom would respond: “He’s a boy and doesn’t need to do anything at home, it’s our duty.”
WHAAAAT? Christine already knew about the idea of social equality, and Ed didn’t actually object to washing his dishes on his own, but her mom insisted. What was she supposed to do? There are of course many other cases where she has proof of a different understanding of what boys and girls could and couldn’t do. Ed had lots of friends – male, female, and… well, he lived the normal life of a teenager without any limitations. He could come home whenever he wanted and their dad just asked how the evening had been.
That is why Christine grew up with a very strong sense of justice and equality. She doesn’t want to complain too much about her parents – they are very affectionate towards her and she can trust them with her life. However, the thing she knows best is that for her, it’s crucial not to support the same values they have passed onto her – even if she feels sad for saying so. While she was growing up, she felt like she lived in a cage that didn’t grow together along with her. That’s why, one day, she decided to push the boundaries.
But Christine didn’t want to oppose her parents directly. They’re good caring people and didn’t deserve a rebellion. She had a different idea. As a junior in high school, she decided that she would study a lot and get involved in a lot of extracurricular activities, especially those dealing with human rights and social integration. Why? Because she felt that her ambition in life would be to enter law school and become a civil and human rights advocate!
Her parents had other ideas. They thought she would go to some college in their home town and then maybe become a teacher of some humanities subject. They felt it was the right thing to do for a girl who wanted to have a calm and happy life. You should have seen their faces when she informed them that she was going to apply for a university in a big city and if everything went right, she would be leaving them to study something that was, to their mind, completely unladylike! It was a tragedy for them. But what should she have done? She had grown up and was now an ambitious young woman. If she had had a different character, she would probably have been a submissive and obedient daughter, but Christine is not ready to give up her principles because her parents see things differently.
It has been a heavy blow for her parents. They didn’t think she would be that determined to achieve her goal. She’s now doing lots of volunteering in social centers and she can see that they disapprove. But her brother Ed gives her lots of support, and she’s grateful to him for that. However, she knows that her parents will one day see after all that they can be proud of her for her determination, and in some way it is to their credit they have raised her to be the person she is now.