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Who is Rajinder?
Who is Rajinder?
Rajinder Singh is my mother, I chose to write about her because she has always strived to do good for others and to help other people. I chose to write my We Search about her because I think this would be a nice tribute piece to my mom and how anybody is capable of achieving the American Dream. When I asked my mom if I could interview her she jumped at the idea and was very glad that I asked her that. She never really gets the chance to speak about herself as nobody really asks her, but she's very happy that I gave her the opportunity to talk about herself. I asked her questions such as Where you were from, How she grew up, and How she did in America.
These simple yet engaging questions gave me so much new information about my mom that opened my eyes. She told me interesting things such as my grandma being a village chief during a time when Sikhs were prime targets of genocide. My Grandfather also was a principal at the time when the genocide was taking place, giving sikh children free education and letting them know that what was happening was wrong. I also learned that my mother had a higher education receiving a master's degree in economics, this was very surprising to me because she had a job in America that was very mediocre compared to a job she could have got with her degree.
A Brief Biography
A Brief Biography
Rajinder Singh was born in Nawanshahr, India in 1981, January 1st. She was the 2 out of 5 children. She came from a good family that was able to afford better things than most people which was good. But she also saw the hardships that were happening around her which made her realize from an early age that people have to struggle. The name Rajinder means that god governs all. Which is ironic because she was born at a time when the government was trying to commit genocide against Sikhs.
She lived in an era that was known as the Genocide of Sikhs., Growing up Rajinder had to deal with racism for being a Sikh at a time when the government was trying to get rid of Sikh people because they thought that they were gonna rule over the government. This went on until she was in high school. She went on in life taking the valuable lesson that some people don't care about anything but you should never be one of those people. She then went to college where she got her master's degree in Economics, where shortly after she had an arranged marriage with Parminder Singh.
After marrying Parminder they moved to America so that they could build a future for themselves and their children there. Rajinder had expected so many things to be amazing, but it fell short of her expectations. She could not find a job because people thought that she was not capable of anything. After all, she was from another country, making her land a mediocre job in a salon. But she saw the future in the salon and decided to get a loan from the bank where she had bought part of the salon, at first it was not very smooth but as she met more people and built a network for herself she was very successful.
How does your individual family member's story help you understand the American Dream?
How does your individual family member's story help you understand the American Dream?
Well doing this project made me realize that you could come from any background and still achieve the American Dream. My mother was wealthy in India but when she got to America she had nothing. She worked for everything that she has now and for that, I'm so very grateful for her. She made it so I could grow up with food on my plate and clothes on my back, along with education support. My mom has done a lot of back-breaking work to provide for our family and it all paid off as she has a network of people and a business that provides us a home and food.
My mother's story helped me realize that race and gender is an important factor in achieving the American Dream as it provides a certain privilege or aid to people. For example, my mother tried to get a job in Economics and was more than qualified considering she had received her master's, but ultimately she was rejected because people thought that she was just some foreign girl who didn't know much about anything. A week and a half later when she went to check up on the job offer it was taken up by a white man, this goes to show how race has a huge influence on your American Dream. As the 1990's was a decade of progress for women but not every women was able to get a job because it was still a decade of progress. But my mother took what she could and made a business out of it and it was able to create a network of friends and family. Shes great wife, mother, and person over all, she overcame all odds and overtime became a great business woman.
Excerpt From Family Narrative Essay
Excerpt From Family Narrative Essay
"Rajinder had to struggle a lot, she couldn't talk to her siblings or parents and always had to work for everything here. When she had her kids she made them her life, but she had to work very hard to keep them fed and educated because it was hard to get a job. She was barely able to see her kids and it hurt her that she couldn't watch her kids grow up. She wished that she could've been there for their children but she's happy that she was able to give them what they needed to become successful. Rajinder had very memorable moments in her life that were good and bad, but in the end of it all she got an outcome that she loves."
By: Jashandeep Singh
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