Although I just busted out four pages in a few hours, it did not drag me down at all - perhaps it is because of the fact that I wrote on a topic that I actually really enjoyed learning about.
For the only Communication course I am taking this semester - Comm, Childhood & Play - we were required for our first papers to write a "generational paper" that compared and contrasted our childhoods with an earlier generation. Being not in such terms with my grandparents (although they have a fascinating history that I would have loved to write about), I naturally asked my dad for an interview (knowing very well that he would not refuse).
I learned so much about my dad during my 40-minute phone conversation with him. I learned that growing up, Dad's family ranged in the top 10% of South Korea - something completely unbelievable to me, since I had never experienced such luxury. I learned about his silly anecdotes, an aunt he loved because she had brought him snacks (haha), and perhaps above all, I learned that Daddy had been a child before I ever came to be.
Growing up, Dad was always such a big figure in my life. He was not human to me; he was so...BIG. It wasn't until I left for college last year that it began to hit me that Dad was a human being after all. He wasn't invincible; he, too, made mistakes. He, too, had a childhood. He, too, had dreams before he got stuck with two kids and immigrated, settling in a job that he did not particularly enjoy.
I wonder what kind of dreams he had growing up as a little kid. I wonder if he ever dreamt about his future family - us - as I often do about my future family right now. I wonder what he went through before Mom entered his life. I wonder...how he feels about it all now.
I know that Daddy loves us more than imaginable - there is no doubt about that. I also know for a fact that he would not want to change anything - that is a true parent's love, and I am forever thankful for it.
I have always been Daddy's Little Girl, but recently I began to feel that there is so much about him that is a mystery to me. This little project for Comm class began as a sort of a nuisance (I thought for some reason that the phone call would be very frustrating), but left me with a curiosity to know more about the life my parents had before...I came along.
