The work on the following pages documents the experiences of our students as they explored their respective communities through the gathering of the living stories of the people around them.
Go the Blog Archive on the right and click on the arrow to open the menu. Click on a student's name to see their blog page.
*Note to students*
See the sample oral history below for a sense of how your work should look.
Oral History of Ann Zambrana
Ann Zambrana is a 40 year-old mother of two. She is of Puerto Rican descent - born and raised in New York City. She has a 6 year-old boy and a 4 year-old girl. We sat together on a bright, yet lazy Sunday afternoon to discuss parenthood and, more specifically, motherhood. Throughout the interview, the children could be heard playing in the background.When I was a kid being a mother was more of an idea, a fantasy. Now as a mother, I realize it’s a lot of hard work. It’s a lot of dedication - not like the fantasy I had as a child.
Motherhood has a lot of meanings to me. I think the most important one is to shape the minds and the souls of these two individuals I brought into this world so that they can respect one another, be honest with one another, and live harmoniously with not just the people on the planet but the planet itself.
I think anyone who deals with children in one form or another is considered like a parent –
someone who’s responsible to teach them right from wrong and to help them, guide their way. But motherhood is different because those children are yours. They’re not somebody else’s child. There’s a certain sense of moral responsibility when they’re yours more than when they’re somebody else’s. You know.The same thing with a father - someone who guides them, shows them, protects them and is there for them. You know, anyone can just make a baby. It’s another [thing] to be there, and guide them. Be responsible for them; Responsible to them.
I mean, you’ve got certain men who will hit their child to put them in place, you have men who will put the fear of God into the child to keep them in place. And then you’ve got those who will sit down and speak to them as an individual and help them understand what their place is, not just put ‘em there, but let them know why it is that they’re there and where it is that they’re going from there.
There are very many different approaches. (Laughs) [Motherhood] has both positive and negative effects on my life. I mean, the positive effect is that they’re my children, they’re my soul. Right now, they’re the center of my life; whereas before, I was the center of my life and things that I wanted to do came first. Now, they come last. I would have to honestly say that I’ve lost some of myself in becoming a mother and a parent.
[But], it is absolutely worth it! (A huge smile comes across her face and tears well up in her eyes as she says these last words.) Everyday, when I look into my kids’ faces and I see those eyes of wonder, it replenishes my soul; it breathes new life into me. And to hear them say, ‘Mommy, I love you’ and to see them hug and kiss each other. It is… it is absolutely worth it!
