Analysis Of Gloria Watkins's Essay 'Keeping Close'

Every fall, thousands of students put away their summer tops and shorts, quit their jobs at Target or Taco Bell and head off to college. Some attend the closest local school while others travel across the state, country or sometimes world to enroll in the schools of their choice. A recent wage study indicates that college graduates on average will earn twice as much money during their lifetimes than students who only graduate from high school. Many parents push their children to attend college, to get a high paying job and live a comfortable life. However, many parents think that the closest local college is just as good as any other university. Gloria Watkins’s parents seem to think this, as Watkins demonstrates in her essay “Keeping Close …show more content…
At that time I was not even interested in college, but my parents pestered me to keep my grades up, they paid for tutors to help me with my math and English, and they made me volunteer at a local Red Cross shelter for Hurricane Katrina victims because it would look good on my applications. In similar fashion, Watkins parents buy her books to help her study although they threaten to burn the books if she does not conform to their expectations. My parents were never that severe, but I was grounded for three months because my tenth grade English class grade was a D. Eventually I brought my grades up. By the time I was a senior, I had decided to go to college; however I wanted to attend NYU (New York University) in New York City, mostly because my best friend Charlene was from New York and she was going to attend that …show more content…
But this may not be the only reason parents are apprehensive about their sons and daughters leaving for school. I think that some parents are afraid that their children will be very successful in college and that success will change them. Watkins parents seem to feel this way since they constently tell her that being smart does not make her any better than anyone else in the family. My friend Gabe has gone through a similar situation. Gabe’s parents were born in Mexico and came to the United States for better lives. Gabe was born here and grew up in La Mirada. His parents only speak Spanish and they forced Gabe to speak Spanish at home. They would even get mad at him for watching English TV shows or listening to music that didn’t have Spanish lyrics. But Gabe would play with me and the other neighbors and we would teach him English. Then when he went to school, one of the teachers told his parents that Gabe needed to speak English if he wanted to be successful here. Gabe’s parents seemed to understand but it was hard for them to let their son speak English since Spanish is part of their heritage and traditions. And the more English Gabe learned, the less Spanish he spoke until by the time he entered high school, Gabe could barely talk to his parents. I know they must