Never Turn Left: Voices from the Second Generation
- ISBN-10
- 1505434211
- ISBN-13
- 9781505434217
- Pages
- 348
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2014-12-16
- Publisher
- CreateSpace
- Author
- Louis Girifalco
Description
The future is rushing to meet me and I know that I will realize only a fraction of what I am and can be. I am beginning to truly absorb the fact of mortality and I don't like it. There are so many more things I can do; that I want to do. And there is much that I would like to pass on, So I am offering this collection of essays and stories, thoughts and ideas which, taken together define a life of transition between two worlds. Only after reading what I have written, did I discover that the central core of my reality is that I am a child of the second generation. I was born between two worlds and was an integral part of two worlds. I wanted to become fully "American," to transcend the old world ideas, customs, prejudices and accents; above all, the accents, which marked us as so different. "Diversity" was not celebrated during my childhood as it is now. So we did our best to fit in, to become like the others and to deny our roots. At the same time, our culture demanded respect for our elders, for their opinions and for their values and we could not escape this. Somehow, the children of the second generation reconciled this duality and grew to be true Americans; the strangers who absorb the American ideas of personal freedom and opportunity, while retaining the best of the old ways. In that uniquely American way, we have struggled and we have triumphed.
