House Girls

This is a term I kinda/sorta made up, about girls like me. A "House Girl" is the girl who lives in a house where she is expected to stay at home. All without her parents telling her to. The House Girl goes straight home after school where she does her homework, chores, etc. If she wants to go somewhere, she always asks her parents. When family is visiting, she plays mini hostess and greets/hugs everyone. She has a good reputation.

Now don't get me wrong, a House Girl is not a perfect girl or whatever. But it's a role that many Central American cultures promote in their families. It's not like my parents ever told me what they expected of me, but they always implied it. "Look at Blah blah blah's daughter, she's always out partying and always disrespects her parents," they'd say about some other girl. Or "Blah blah blah's daughter is always checking in with her parents, she's a good house girl," or as they would actually put it, "Niña de casa".

As House Girls we have to place high standards for ourselves, because in the end we reflect our parents and our upbringing on their part. My parents never let me sleep over a friend's house when I was little, and I didn't have my official first "sleepover" until I was SIXTEEN! They always said "Your friends can come to our house, but you cannot stay at their house." I never understood that reasoning until today. Think about it, if I go to someone else's house, my behavior reflects a lot on how I am being raised at home. When you're little, you don't know any better. My parents waited out until they figured I could figure things out on my own.

That's right folks, I became an adult at sixteen...lol just kidding!

But even now that I'm a sophomore in college, I'm still a House Girl. I call home every now and then, when I'm home I still tell my parents where I'm off to. I drive my mom to the grocery store, I help my dad with his taxes and other paperwork. I'm my sister's personal chauffeur, I keep in touch with my grandmothers, etc. It don't matter what else I'm up to, I will always be a House Girl.

House Girls represent!