In the past year I have read many books, but the one I find most intriguing is “Falling Leaves Return to their Roots” by Adeline Yen-Mah. This book is an autobiography of the author, describing her difficult childhood and rise to success. In the book, Yen-Mah was considered unlucky by her family as her mother died while giving birth to her. Consequently, most of her family rejected her. However, through hard work in school she earned her family’s respect and succeeded in her future careers. What I found interesting is the strength Yen-Mah had even though it seemed like the world was against her. Eventually I realized that she didn’t work hard for good grades, she worked hard for her dream of finally gaining a loving family. She associated her perseverance with her goal, and therefore it made me question myself. What is my goal? What is my dream job? How can I achieve these goals? Currently, my goal is to get accepted into an …show more content…
This belief became a motivation for Yen-Mah towards her success. Once again, I question myself as to why Yen-Mah would try so hard to impress a family that abused her and even helped them later on. Then it reminded me of something my mother said to me: “When everybody turn their backs against you, the only people who will stand beside you is your family.” Although they abused Yen-Mah, they are the only family that she has; if she doesn’t help them, nobody will. This makes me think about my relationship with my own family, specifically my little sister. Ever since she learned how to speak, we fought ceaselessly, to the point that my mom thinks that we hate each other. But that’s not true. During my school trips, I always make sure to buy her a gift and vice versa. Small actions like these show that despite our past arguments, we still love and care for each other, similar to how Yen-Mah forgave her family and decided to help them in the