The Blessed Curse of Growing Up

When you are growing up your age increases, as well as your common sense. Growing up can be very joyful or sad, because when you grow up you start to realize things more. For example, when you were younger you might of believed in the tooth fairy or Santa, but now that you are older hopefully common sense kicked in and told you that it's not true. This is almost exactly what occurred in “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan. Amy had a crush on the minister’s son, when her mother invited their family over for christmas she was devastated. Embarrassed, because of her culture. Her dad offering her an “odd” part of the fish, relatives with “no manners”, and “Odd” foods, are the “defects” that embarrassed her. Increasing age is also a start of realization of your whole life. Amy Tan is realizing that her mother were trying to help her, she realized this when she grew up. This is proof that the package of growing up includes realization, and the theme suggests so as well.

Amy is engulfed in embarrassment at the time, but when she grows up she realizes she was for no reason In the passage it states that she did not agree with her mother than after many years when she got over her crush on Robert she grew up. She realized that her mother cooked all her favorite foods… and her mother wanted her to know that she should not be ashamed of her culture. Her mother tells her that the only shame is to have shame. Meaning if you are embarrassed about your culture the only reason is because you are viewing it in a negative way. She even admitted in the story last line saying “It wasn’t until many years later when I got over my crush on Robert that I fully understood the lesson my mother tried to make.” In the passage it also states that her Mother tried to explain to her when she was young but did not understand it until she was older.” my mother said to me, "You want to be the same as American girls on the outside." . "But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame.” And even though I didn't agree with her then, I knew that she understood how much I had suffered during the evening's dinner. It wasn't until many years later – long after I had gotten over my crush on Robert – that I was able to fully appreciate her lesson” Understanding is another thing that comes with growing up. This part of the essay proves that this is true. Realization as well as understanding come with growing up and the passage “Fish Cheeks” is a great example.

This passage’s positive theme with an embarrassing story suggests that the package of growing up includes the wonderful gift of realization. She realizes that her family made that dinner in favor of her. We are exposed to the opportunity of acquiring this package at least daily yet we disregard it as if it was just another piece of garbage? This story has a strong theme that I even learned from. Once you realize one thing it works like a puzzle you will realize another thing and another thing until you realized everything realizing that your perspective on everything was wrong when you were wrong but the increase of age gifts you with realization. So not only growing up is the theme but Realization within growing up. The small peaks of life may make you think that the universe is out to get you or it was the other person’s fault. But in time you will realize that it was either your fault or you caused the incident that made you think “the universe is out to get me” Growing up is a blessed curse that makes you realize bad things that were actually good and “good” things that were actually bad.