Mi Tan

English 11 – Period 5

10/11/2022

Mr. Strebar

Prompt: How do we see freedom as a value in our society?

Freedom has been an important value in human’s principles, over the course of time, under

the control of many powerful representatives, humans started to forget how to win their freedom

back. In the book I Am Not your Perfect Mexican Daughter, tells a story of a girl that named Julia

Reyes who experienced her “perfect” sister’s death and her life in her undocumented Mexican

immigrant family. Julia’s life story is much related with freedom, in chapter 10 Julia had a

conversation with her best friend Lorena. Which Lorena said, “Sometimes it’s like you think

you’re too good for every­thing. You’re too hard on people”, and Julia replied, “That’s because I

am too good for everything! You think this is what I want? This sucks. This sucks so hard, I can’t

take it sometimes”, Julia swing her arms, gesturing toward she don’t know what. She was angry

her ears feel as if they’re on fire. Throughout the conversation between Julia and Lorena, Julia was

on the verge of collapse. Julia finds out that she can’t do anything under the control of her family,

they just want her to do what they want her to do, she can’t choose her own choice, no matter her

lifestyle, her emotions, or even her own quinceañera. Fortunately, after Julia Reyes had

experienced more, and knowing more a little about her family difficulties, she started to change

herself and work hard, and this make her accepted by the University of New York, her ideal

University. Before she left her family and fly to New York, she asked to herself, “How can I leave

them like this? How can I just live my life and leave them behind? What kind of person does that?
Will I ever forgive myself?”. Julia had always been controlled by her family, and this affect her

for a long period of time, she is no longer thinking for herself but more for her family’s thought.

Although being a “perfect” daughter was Olga’s (Julia Reyes’ sister) role, but by reading the book

we noticed that Julia's subconscious also wants to be the perfect daughter in her parents' hearts.

During Julia’s adolescence life, she was so eager to have the opportunity to do what she wanted to

do, finally, she went to attend in her new university and having a new life in there.

During the reading, we kept noticing that Julia had always tried to use her voice and her

power to do something, searching for more evidence about her sister’s death, or even saying no to

her parents. In many country, being a child can’t really express themselves or claim for their

thoughts. But Julia born in America, she had always educated as she is in a land of freedom, she

can totally express herself and say no to everything that she dislike, but not for her parents. Many

parents can’t accept that their child can have their own choice or thoughts, they are usually used

to their child obeys them no matter what command. Humans are never toys of something or

someone, we all have our rights and freedom to do whatever we want to do.

Works Cited

Sánchez, Erika L. I Am Not your Perfect Mexican Daughter. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.