Different Realities
Reading about Obama's young mother in the New York Times, I am reminded about a discussion Alex and I had the other day on how we live in a world of different realities. What sparked the conversation was his conversation with a random stranger at a government office while waiting for some documents. It's not at all related to Obama or his Mom, but it is about how we all have different lives growing up. One cannot just assume everyone's childhood was just as pleasant as ours even though we'd like to believe it. His reality is not my reality and vice versa. What really hit us was how this stranger, this pleasant happy chit chatting man, was talking about his family. How he had a hard life growing up and how education for him ended at fourth grade primary. He talked about his daughter and how he was so proud of her to have finished 9th grade. It was like a dream had come true for his children to accomplish such a high le...