A Modern Day Superhero
By: Tenzin Tsering
The familiar sound of a tea kettle rings throughout our tiny apartment disrupting the quiet of the early morning. This abrupt noise jolted me awake. Soon after hearing this noise I hurriedly jumped out of bed and rushed to get ready for tutoring. I knew my Ama (mother) would have woken me up with a boring lecture if I hadn’t gotten up myself so I hurried to get out the door as soon as possible. As I scrambled to gather my things, my Ama approached me and started to nag me endlessly about trivial things, “Tentsering, did you do your homework? Did you eat breakfast? You can’t study on an empty stomach. Make sure to eat the breakfast I made you. Tentsering make sure to focus hard today okay?” I nodded and okayed mindlessly as I had heard these exact words for the past 16 years.
For the longest time, I had never truly understood why my mother had been so concerned when it came to my studies. She believed that I was something special and that I could do great things as long as she would push me to strive for greatness when it came to academics. I couldn’t understand this because it’s true that I wasn’t failing classes or skipping school. In fact, I never slacked off when it came to school. But, I was a fairly average student for the duration of my middle and elementary school career, and I definitely didn’t think of myself as a genius or some sort of Einstein. Despite my mediocracy my Ama always had high hopes for me, she saw something in me that I couldn’t. I could always overhear her on the phone with her friends, as she bragged about something that I did that probably wasn’t so impressive to anyone but her. Growing up, attending tutoring or attending some sort of extra class outside of school was common practice. My Ama would always have me try to push myself academically as she thought sending me to these classes would boost my intelligence.
Coming from a working-class family, my mother was never able to pursue a higher education herself so she had made it her goal to give me a proper education as she knew that education is a key factor to success in life. My Ama was born in a village in India along with three of her other siblings. Being born into a refugee working-class family, they weren’t able to sustain all of their children’s education because they didn’t have the benefits or support they needed. From this experience, she has learned and passed down the value of education to me.
Our financial situation was precarious and sending me to all these extra classes had put an additional strain on our family because of how much it was starting to cost. When I was in the third grade we were forced to move apartments because we were no longer able to afford living in our building. At the time my Ama was working at a grocery store and she wasn’t making enough to support our family. Her workplace didn’t have a union and the community she needed to support her in our time of financial difficulties. Being so young and attached to my home moving was a tough process for me especially because that was the only home I had ever known. Even though these times were tough my Ama had been there for me to support and comfort me through this period of my life, and despite our financial circumstances at the time she continued to send me to tutoring and various extracurricular activities because she prioritized my education and made sure to let me pursue the activities that I enjoyed.
Not long after this unfortunate time in our lives my Ama had changed workplaces and had switched from working at a grocery store to being a housekeeper at a hotel. Ever since then, she has been able to join a united community of workers who supported her as she supported me. Not only that, but this switch has allowed her to be a part of the union, and this opportunity has uplifted our family as a whole and has allowed us to have access to better healthcare and an array of various benefits we wouldn’t have had without the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council. One of the many educational programs that the union offers is the GED program, which my Ama has been able to attend, allowing her to pursue the education she missed out on as a result of immigrating to the United States at such a young age.
Despite my apparent indifference to Ama’s words I secretly take them to heart because growing up I’ve always seen her be strong for our family and stay committed to her goals. My Ama has always been facing the challenges that life throws at her with a smile on her face. She has been able to not only be a mom, one of the hardest jobs on Earth while being able to sustain a successful career as a housekeeper. Her commitment to my education and well-being, even in the face of significant obstacles, and her words and many lessons are what guided me to become the person I am today. My Ama is my superhero because she has always been there for me when I needed her and she has taught me perseverance, kindness, and compassion. And I believe that the many other parents working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a better future for their children are also truly modern-day superheroes.
