The Illusion of a New Beginning

Brenda Araisa
November 1 2010
ESL 100
The Illusion of a New Beginning
The day everything went wrong was the day my past and present generations took a different path. From the years 1910 to 1920, there was a revolution in Mexico which, lasted almost a decade. The cause for this revolution began because of a disagreement in a president’s election and social issues in the country. Consequently, families had to abandon their homes and jobs, and their kids had to stop going to school. After that, many families were estranged because their fathers felt forced to participate in the revolution while the rest of the family had to remain hiding in the mountains to protect themselves. Due to the Mexican Revolution of 1910, my great-grandmother migrated to the United States, and this move affected my past generation’s lives and the generations to come.


When the Mexican Revolution of 1910 began my great grandparents felt forced to leave their homes. One of the reasons for this was that my great grandfather had to participate in the Mexican Revolution while, keeping his family safe. If my great grandfather had not volunteered for the Mexican Revolution, he would have been judged as a coward by other men. Of course he did not want this to happen, so he decided to go to the revolution. My great grandmother and her children remained hiding in the mountains with hardly anything to eat. Many people that were also hiding began getting sick, and unfortunately many of them lost their lives. When the revolution was over, many families had lost their loved ones. In my great grandmother’s case, she had lost a husband, her kids had lost a father, and they had also lost the hacienda that they once owned.



In addition, affected by the economy and the loss of their husbands, many women decided to immigrate to the United States while leaving their kids in Mexico with other family members. For instance, my greatgrandmother could not afford to support her children and left them with her sister in Mexico. She came to the United States with her youngest daughter who was my grandmother, and began working in factories. My great grandmother worked for several years and began saving her money. She knew she would never have enough money to bring all her kids to the United States or to rebuild her hacienda. However, she knew her kids in Mexico would be able to have food on the table each day. A few years later, she went back to Mexico to be with the rest of her children.




Finally, when my grandma got married, she faced a difficult job in the U.S. My grandma had always disliked working in factories and when she came back from Mexico, she had no choice but to do it. Next, everyday that she worked for the factory, she felt overwhelmed by the way the other workers and her were being treated. For example, my grandma would not always leave from work at the time she was supposed to and she would get paid the same amount of money. My grandma was tired from the way she was treated in her job, but she had no choice but to continue working. My grandparents worked in the United States almost all their lives, while their kids remained in Mexico. Soon my mother got married to my father. Similarly to my grandparents they decided to come to the United States and they had three kids. After that, all my mom’s brothers and sisters decided to come live in the Unites States and also raise their kids here.


As a result of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, and the loss of my great grandfather’s life, the world of my past generations and my generations was turned around. After the revolution was over my past and present generations tucked a new beginning. When I think of about the past, I do not feel sad or sorry that my family ended up living in the United States. I feel thankful and proud of what my family has been able to accomplish to make sure that my family had a good upbringing as our lives were changing.