The Butterfly

The Butterfly

     In the early generation of Taiwan, to be an immigrant or to study in the United States was many people’s dream. People believed that was the way to make their life better because of the freedom, democracy and abundant economy of the United States. My father-in-law had a dream that was to study abroad, but he didn’t complete it. In the 1960s, the ideology of Taiwan started to change from an agricultural society to an industrial society. The economy started to grow, so there were many job opportunities. My father-in-law is the eldest son, so he had the responsibility to support his siblings and family financially. Thus, he couldn’t study abroad, and it was a regret in his mind. He wished his son, my husband, would complete his dream in the future. Accordingly, the regret caused my husband to focus all his attention toward studying abroad. In 2011, my husband was admitted to Illinois Institute Technology to complete his Ph.D., and then we married and moved to Chicago. It was a change that made my life different and better.

     I’m a person who don’t like to change, but I have been adopting to the new life since I moved to Chicago three years ago. In Taiwan, I used to go home by the same route, eat the same breakfast every day and have the same hair style. I didn’t like to do something new or uncertain in my life, or attempt to do something in a different way that I had never done before. When I moved to the United States, however, I needed to continuously adopt to all of the new things every day. In the beginning, I was afraid to take the CTA because some of my friends told me that CTA is dangerous. Once my classmate who lived in Chicago for ten years told me that CTA is safe, and that I needed to try it. I finally did it. Furthermore, I didn’t like to eat pizza when I lived in Taiwan, but the most famous of food in Chicago is pizza. My friends told me to try the pizza which is totally different from Taiwan’s pizza, especially deep dish, and then I tried it. After all of the new experiences that I tried, I realized what I wouldn’t know the result before I tried it. The new experiences brought good feelings to me, so I had more energy to overcome my fear in my mind. I now like to change.

     The change has not only been for me. There was also been a change in the relationship between my father and me. In my childhood, I was not close with my father, for he was strict and worked in mainland China since I was seven years old. It didn’t make me sad that I couldn’t spend time with my father. Moreover, I wasn’t concern my father’s life when he worked aboard. In fact, I didn’t communicate with my father frequently or write greeting cards for him during the holidays. After I moved to Chicago, I started to realize life abroad wasn’t as easy as I thought. My father live abroad since I was young, and this made me to think that how he went through during these years. People these days can easily communicate with people wherever they are and get any information from the internet, but they still get homesick when they work or live abroad. Furthermore, my father’s generation in China wasn’t technologically advanced in internet. Accordingly, I stared to connect with my father frequently. I usually communicate with him to concern his work and health and send a greeting card to him for father’s day. After that I realized my father wasn’t strict, and now have better relationship than before because of our change.

     My husband’s passion for studying abroad is the most important factor to change my definition of dream. I always thought that my dream is too far to reach, so I never plan to accomplish my dream. I would like to operate a lake house when I get old. It was my dream that I didn't think it would ever come true, until I met my husband. I met my husband when I was a graduate student in Taiwan. On our first date, he told me that his dream was to study broad. At the moment, I thought that was just a dream which everyone has in their mind. However, I changed my concept after I accompanied him to go through every process of studying abroad, because his passion for his dream touched me profoundly. When he got admitted, I realized that the dream will come true if you do it step by step. I have recently begun to think about my dream and plan how to accomplish it.

     When I decided to go to Chicago with my husband, some of my friends thought I was putting my life on hold because of his dream. They thought that it was unfair to me. I also thought that at the beginning, but I had another after during these changes. I will now say he is a man who guides me to a way that makes me be better. To be better or successful can look like many different things, but you need to try. If you never try, you will never succeed. I would like to thank my father and my husband because of their transition. My father’s change gave me a better life, and my husband’s change let me be brave. My change will let me know that I can do whatever I think is impossible for me.