NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Why Can't I Just Be Like Everyone Else? Portuguese parents today tend to be stricter on their daughters than most other cultures. I myself am a one hundred percent Portuguese female brought up by traditional parents and therefore can relate to this statement. Why is it that we are treated differently?
Should our culture have anything to do with how we are raised in today's society? I speak on my behalf and realize that as I become older my parents seemed to become alot stricter than my friend's parents. (non-Portuguese) Why is this? I am honestly not sure, but I know it has something to do with how my parents were brought up. I see this everyday in the way that my grandmother treats my mother. "Avo", or grandmother, as we say in Portuguese is very old-fashioned and traditional. Mom carries these old customs to the way she raises me. I feel that this accounts for the fact that we cannot get I am now eighteen years of age and considered a legal adult.
I should be handed more responsibility and trust. For example, my parents do not allow me to sleep out unless it is a family member's house. "Mom, can I sleep over Taylor's house tonight. " Out of the question. I wouldn't dare ask. I'd only get rejected. It didn't matter how much I begged or what I promised there was no way I was getting away with it. "Why do you want to sleep over, so you can stay out past your curfew?" Any excuse in the book you could come up with my mom had already memorized. To this day she hasn't given me a reason for this, but then again I'm sure she doesn't have a valid one.
However, there hasn't been a fight that my mom has put up that I can't argue about and win. One of the biggest battles today between Portuguese parents and their daughters are curfews. Why is it that we have to be home before the sun goes down? I know that just last year, at the age of seventeen, my parents wanted me home at 11: 00 p. m. I think I must have fought about this curfew everytime I went out.
All of my friends who were of mixed cultures that time had curfews of 12: 00 a. m. or later. I thought this was so unfair and often did not even want to go out with my friends because we always had to leave wherever we Another difference I have always had that distinguishes me from my friends is the issue of boyfriends.
I was never allowed to go out with guys or date anyone until I turned eighteen. My closest friends were bringing guys home to meet their parents at the age of sixteen. I never really complained about this however because I knew most guys meant trouble. I didn't just assume this; I could see it with my friends. If I was to go out with a guy it would have to be a respectable Portuguese male.
As I grew older, even pagers and cell phones were inaccessible to me. My mother's famous words were, " What are you some type of drug dealer. " I was not allowed to have either until I received my license and I had a car. My grandmother viewed this new technology as an easier way for bad people to keep in close contact with eachother. This had influence on my mother and she wouldn't allow me to purchase them. "Choose your friends wisely. " How could I choose my friends when my parents did it for me? I wasn't allowed to hang around with certain people because other people might think I was like them. Who could I hang around with you might ask.
Well, if you narrow it down to the selected few they seem to fit in one category- FAMILY! I agree it was pathetic. My friends were utter losers who thought walking their dogs was a fun pastime. I spent most of my time at home or on the phone with real friends.
Hobbies seemed to also bring up alot of family discussions. As we discussed in class, girls played with Barbies and boys played with action figures. As I grew up, I was captain of the basketball and volleyball team, I lifted weights, took kickboxing, raced go-carts and dirtbike's, and drove a fast car. All to my mother's disapproval. I had to be the perfect girl. There was always something I just wasn't doing right.
I led a life of stress and competition; always striving to be the best. I blame everything on tradition. Why I couldn't stay out, why I couldn't have a boyfriend, and why I shouldn't ride dirtbike's. I think Portuguese parents should raise their children today according to what is going on presently and not how they were raised in Portugal thirty to forty years ago.
It is truly important to keep up with the times and live accordingly to today's society but with your own good judgement. Let your child lead a normal life with all the advantages everyone around them has. Why should we be any different because we are Portuguese. This gives people the right to stereotype us Portuguese girls. I know that when I say I am Portuguese I don't want to hear, "Oh, you must have strict parents. " Why can't we just be treated like everyone else? The answer to this question is that tradition doesn't allow Bibliography: none
Free research essays on topics related to: today society, guys, mom, grandmother, portuguese
Research essay sample on Portuguese Parents Today Society Friends
