Transformation is a process, and as life happens there are tons of ups and downs. It’s a journey of discovery – there are moments on mountaintops and moments in deep valleys of despair “(Rick Warren). Mukesh Shah (my uncle), who is an immigrant, has encountered with this process in his early adulthood. As a child, he was the most mischievous kid in the family of three younger sisters, and a youngest brother. He was so ill-behaved that in order to bring his disciplinary he was beaten and punished by his parents. But transformation has its own part to play, and it did certainly did on Mukesh Shah.
Unlike his past, at present he has transformed into a sincere man, with light grey hair and eyebrows. Thin and short, yet his personality stands strong and tall, and always living his life with a delighted smile. Thus, it is true that “Growing age grows responsibility”, and when misfortune calls, and as we are faced with obstacles that is when we are forced to grow, and that growth is reflected through his transformation. At the age of 17, as an eldest child, he was ready to take on the responsibilities for handling the whole household, since his father’s health deteriorated to a point, where he had to take bed rest.
Just in his first year of college student, he was a full time employee, consisted of 70 hours per week, and a student. His routine started off with early morning college and then, he spent his afternoon to late evening in a pharmaceutical store. He was not force to handle the family, but it was his mature decision to take care of his family. He was merely free for an hour, for which he would go to his home, to a lunch He was deprived away of his own part of life, as he chose to take on the responsibility of his younger siblings.
At the age of 17, his father’s health deteriorated to a point, where he had to take bed rest, and thus, as an eldest he took on the responsibilities for handling the whole household. As a first year college students, he was a full time employee, consisted of 70 hours per week, and a student. His routine started off at 6 in the morning and then, he attended the college from 8 am to noon, and after an hour of break he had to rush to his job, which lasted till 10 pm.
He was deprived away of his own part of life, as he chose to take on the responsibility of his younger siblings. As an eldest son, he was ready to take on the challenges, and taking the good care of his family economically. Being the only source of income in the family, he always felt the need to do more, therefore he always did much more than it was expected to do. An instance is that he worked as a full time employee at a hardware store, who worked overtime, so he can brings more money to his family. As it turns out, he was not achieving what he had hoped for.
He wanted to become a lawyer, but putting in almost 10 hours at job and not getting enough sleep made it impossible for him to study and work full time simultaneously. During those rough times, there were many things he did in daily life in order to cope with the tension that stressed his life. First was his faith in the God. He is religious person, who practices religion almost every day. Hid faith is so strong that he always believed this struggles will have a favorable outcome. Secondly, he took blessings and advice from his loving father.
His father was his role model, and his inspirations. During his holidays or day-offs, he would have fun time with his family, such as going out for a movie or a picnics. In conclusion, his life has gone a lot of ups and downs, but he never stopped thinking about how he can improve the condition of his family’s life. He is near his retirement age, but he still has a hint from his childhood blended with his sincere and mature personality. Thus, as an elder brother, I can say that he has succeeded as the fatherly figure of his family.
