Different Direction

 Different Direction

       My family has walked on a straight road for a long time, but they discovered a big hole in the center. They had to change the direction. In 1966, the Cultural Revolution started in China, and the whole country entered a big crisis because Chairman Mao wanted to preserve communism and avoid capitalism. Then, he launched reform. It caused many communists to be against intellectuals and private land ownership. My great-grandfather who was a teacher killed himself because he could not bear the criticism. Moreover, my grandparents rented three houses in the village were criticized, too. They lost their social status, and the family was in decline. Two years later, Deng Xiao Ping pointed out the mistake in the Cultural Revolution. He tried to make the economy recover, so he created Reform and Opening Up. The majority of people had many opportunities to change their lives at that time. As a result, my family also started looking for a new way to live and exist in China.

       In the beginning, my family found it hard to save themselves. After the Cultural Revolution, they lost everything in the village. They did not have any income, so their life became terrible. They did not have enough money to buy food, and they needed to walk to the food bureau to get some food at dawn because the food bureau was far from their house. The traffic was inconvenient in the village, and it also difficult to walk. Moreover, my father did not have anything to do. He could not go to school because my grandparents could not afford it, and he did not have any friends. Children in the village were warned by their parents not to play with my father because their families were afraid to help others at that time. They could only solve their own problems. If they helped other people one time, some people would ask them for help again and again. That would bring people who lent a helping hand into trouble. This makes my father lonely.

       However, my family moved to a city to start a new life during the Reform and Opening period. They tried to leave the bad memories behind them and make a change. They thought living in the city was more convenient than living in the village because the roads were more modern. The bus stop was about five minutes from their house, so they could go out and buy things easily. In addition, my grandfather contributed to Reform and Opening Up. He actively responded to reforms and met a person who was good at architecture. He learned some skills about architecture from that person. He earned money after he became a builder. Our house in China was also built by my grandfather and his friends.

       Furthermore, my father had an opportunity to change his life. Everything was new in his eyes when he went to the city for the first time. He went to school again and found his other half. My mother met him in a painting class because my father’s major was drawing, and he practiced there every day. My mother had a similar experience with my father, so they had things in common. They often talked about how they lived through their terrible childhood. They quickly fell in love, and a few years later, they got married. They saw many people catch the chance to earn money during the reform, so they started to open a business. Then, they opened a grocery, but it was not an easy job. After they moved many places and tried many times, the business picked up.

       My family changed their lives in the correct direction. For example, they tried to forget the bad memories and moved to a city. That caused everything to change in a positive way. Before I came to the U.S., I enjoyed the fruits of their labor, so I had good surroundings and education and did not need to care about food or money. I think if we find something wrong on our road, we should not stop. We can change a direction, so we may find a better life.