3 Things I learned from reading The Joy Luck Club

1. The incomparable distance between daughters and mothers.

It is not that I have not known about this, but I was forgetting about it. Everyday lives, we only look into our covers and not look deeper into the inside. Especially my age children, adolescent trouble starts and we conflict with our mothers. As I read the Joy Luck Club, I see that the mothers are always looking into the future, when we, as children only look into what is present.

2. Mothers are human, too.

From when we were young, mothers were just 'different' from us. They knew everything, they were really smart, they were caring, and they were bold. Mothers were somebody whom we could always rely on, somebody who would be there when we were in trouble. Mothers always hid their tears from us, they looked so strong. As I read the Joy Luck Club, I saw the childhood of people who were currently 'mothers' of someone. They lived the exact same childhood as us, they experienced the same emotions. They feel sad, anger, fear, and happiness. They were mature, only because we were in their eyesight, and we were the ones who were too young to comprehend their true feelings.

Right now, my view of them is very different. My mother seems more like a friend, than a straight on mother. I can caress her sometimes, as she caresses me. Mothers need time to rest, and so I let them rest. Now, it is them who we should look after, not them looking after us.

3. Maturity does not come to you, you have to approach it.

Every child wonders and dreams, that when they become an adult, they will become an adult. Adult is a human being who reached maturity. They can look after people, they can look after themselves. They know when to stand strong and they know when to pull back and apologize. Adults should not be only prideful, they should also know how to have very soft hearts sometimes. Becoming an adult means many things, and as children, they do not see these actions. What the children see are the physical form of themselves, and they believe that when they age, they will become like them.

Maturity is something you earn as you break past each wall when you bump into one as you live your life. It is something that you have to question yourself and your surroundings to receive the answer. Each adult act the way as the answer of their lives until now gives them.