"Scholarship Boy"

Shame, guilt, change, anxiety, separation. This are just a few of the feelings that Richard Rodriguez spoke of experiencing throughout his life in his article, "Scholarship Boy." Rodriguez grew up in a Spanish household with uneducated parents and a yearn for knowledge. Although he knew this knowledge would make him different from his family, he craved to resemble his intelligent teachers who had both authority and confidence. As he got older, Rodriguez spoke of the hardships he encountered between his two lives at home and at school. He struggled daily when he tried to focus on his reading and papers while living in a noisy household with people who simply did not understand him. He was both embarrassed and ashamed of his parent's lack of education and he felt that he could not be proud of his accomplishments at home. Rodriguez knew deep down that his education was becoming a fundamental change in both his life and that of his family. The separation between them was constantly growing and this gap was a perpetual reminder of what his old life used to be. His devotion to his studies would bring him far in life, but there was a certain price he had to pay. Ultimately, he was thankful for everything his parents had done for him, yet their lives were slowly and surely drifting apart.