"But I thought your papers are wrong, and you're seventy-two, seventy-three in Chinese years."(102)
   I really enjoyed the discussion we had a couple weeks ago where some people shard their personal experiences of how their parents or grandparents have different birthdays than what is on their birth certificate. I didn't realize that in other cultures this was a very common thing that people did for various reasons. After that class, I started thinking what if my parents changed my birth certificate "What do numbers matter?" (102) We place so much emphasis on our birthdays, but in reality it could be a totally different day or even year. I admit that I probably put too much emphasis on my birthday. When I celebrated my birthday in college, my parents came down to see me and take me to dinner. My friends surprised me at 12 am with gifts and cookies. I felt so blessed to have all of them in my life and so thankful to celebrate another birthday. However, I should be thankful for another day of life everyday. Sometimes I find myself taking the little things for granted. I am so blessed and I know that I don't show how appreciative I am all the time. This is something I need to work on, because every new day is a blessing from God that not everyone gets.
and never told me.
"When she was about sixty-eight years old, Brave Orchid took a day off to wait at San Francisco International Airport for the plane that was bringing her sister to the United States."(113)
   Imagine the excitement she must have been feeling waiting for her sister to arrive. So many different thoughts were probably also going through her head as well. She was probably thinking about  how her sister would look or if she still has the same personality. "That one looks like her." (115) As time goes on people naturally go through some changes. I can somewhat relate to what she must have been feeling waiting for her sister. Whenever it is time to go home for Christmas break or just for the weekend, I always think about what changes my parents might be going through or if my brother has his beard or not. Although I don't go "five years"(117) without seeing them, it's still hard not seeing them everyday. I cannot imagine going through this and I feel for anyone who has to go through this.