"Only Daughter"

In the essay "Only Daughter" by Sandra Cisneros, the author shares the issue she faced of  being the only daughter in a family of six sons and her battle to win her dad's approval, respect, and simply some attention. Being an only daughter forced her to spent much of her time alone, which she used wisely to think, imagine, and to prepare herself. After 6 years of  school, instead of her father being proud of her, he disappointingly shook his head because after all that time she was still left with no husband. Sandra continued to desperately try and make her father be proud of her but even with outstanding awards after ten years of professionally writing, her father took no interest in her not knowing that everything she wrote was for him. One Christmas she flew home excitedly to show her dad a book of hers that had recently been published in Spanish. After her father was done reading it, he stated "Where can we get more copies of this for the relatives?" those words meant the world to her. Sandra Cisneros had accomplished a big goal in life; she won her dad's approval but most important she stopped being an outcast from the family and became the only daughter, a writer.

This essay made me reflect on experiences I have faced in life. Besides it being interesting it had many good points. I liked how she talks about her family and culture and where she comes from because I feel like I can relate to it. It made me think of what she must have felt like because in a way it's the same for me, except that it is expected a lot from me from my father because I am the only girl and the eldest too. It also shows how sometimes it's the small things that matter in life, and how something simple can mean so much to a person. Like she states when her father read her book, "Of all the wonderful things that had happened to me last year, that was the most wonderful." It inspires me to always try and better myself and to continue to try and built a stronger relationship with my father.