Spina - Three Reason Blog Argument (When I Was Puerto Rican)

When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago was a good memoir because it showed the struggles Esmeralda went through as a child, but then later on, how she overcame those struggles.

For example, throughout her childhood, her parents fought a lot, their houses were always infected with snakes forcing them to move a lot throughout Puerto Rico.  The big move they ultimately made was to New York. Esmeralda had to tough it out during her childhood moving from house to house, but the move to New York is when things got better for her. She had moved up to the top of her class, getting on the honor roll almost every quarter and getting into the high school she wanted, defying the odds of when everyone said she couldn’t do it because she couldn’t speak great English.

Another example to show that Esmeralda had some struggles as a child, but overcame them, was that Esmeralda was the oldest of 11 children and always had the responsibility of taking care of some of them and setting a good example. This sometimes overwhelmed her because she had to balance school work, help her mother around the house,  while still being a good example for her younger siblings. This was a major struggle throughout a good part of her childhood because sometimes she couldn’t handle being that mother figure for her siblings sometimes. As she became older and went on through middle school and high school, she was a great example for her younger siblings, getting great grades every quarter, getting into a Performing Arts high school when she blew her audition because she couldn’t speak great english even after practice. She also got a full paid scholarship to Harvard.  She paved a great path for her younger siblings which is the job she was supposed to do.

Lastly, an example to show that Esmeralda overcame her struggles was trying to please her parents. Esmeralda tried very hard to be successful. Her mother told her every night that she failed as a female, as a sister and as the eldest. Every day Esmeralda proved her right by neglecting her chores, letting one of her siblings get hurt, or by not commanding the respect that she deserved from her brothers and sisters. Even though she had failed to please her mother, she did try in the process. This is why success at school became very important to her. She always struggled to please her parents (mostly her mother) and she figured if she couldn’t be successful in the house, she could be when it came to academics. Many people doubted her ability as a student including her mother but she proved them wrong later on once again by showing them that not only she could handle all of the schoolwork, but be very successful while doing it.