I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Summary 1

I am not your perfect mexican daughter Chapter 1 Summary Olga, Julia's older sister, is being laid to rest, and Julia Reyes is there with her family. Olga's "lingering smile" shocks Julia when she looks into her sister's coffin since Olga was "meek and frail" in life, thus Julia is taken aback by Olga's smile now. Olga is depicted in an "unstylish" floral dress that embodies her often matronly appearance. Despite the fact that Olga was only twenty-two when she passed away, she constantly wore clothing that made her look "either four or eighty years old." Julia believes that the charming Olga destroyed her attractiveness, her figure, and essentially her entire life. Olga made few acquaintances and spent her days focusing on her job while she remained at home, worked part-time in a medical office, and only took one class per semester at a nearby community college. Julia, aspires to be a famous writer, was both envious of and perplexed by the saintly Olga while she was alive—Olga was "the perfect Mexican daughter," whereas Julia is far from it. Julia's mean thoughts about her sister are interrupted when Amá pushes past her and wails, screaming "my daughter" over and over in Spanish as she "practically climbs inside the casket." Julia sighs as she waits for her mother to "tire herself out." She wishes she could console her mother, but their strained relationship prevents her from doing so. Julia has always been the odd one out, while Olga has always been the favorite. Julia is not alone in her failure to adequately express grief over Olga's death; her father, Apá, hasn't cried either. Julia insists that she is in deep grief, but her body refuses to let her cry for some reason. Julia understands that her grief will "build until [she] explodes[s] like a piata." Julia can't help but feel skeptical and bored as aunts and uncles rush forward to comfort Amá—"Once you're dead," she thinks, "you're dead." Julia tends to reflect about the day Olga died, wishing she could have stopped her sister from leaving the house. Julia went through the motions at school, cheekily lying about her period to avoid swimming in the disgusting pool during gym class and getting sent to the principal for responding to her skeptical teacher by offering to let the teacher "check" her for proof. Julia's frequent visits to the principal's office always result in scoldings—and groundings—from Amá, who is perplexed as to why her once-obedient daughter has turned into a troublemaker who enjoys living "la mala vida"—the bad life. Julia was in trouble with her teachers and needed to be picked up by Amá on the day of Olga's death, Olga would have to take the bus home from school as opposed to being picked up—then, while switching buses, Olga walked across the street looking at her phone and was hit by a massive semi truck. Olga was killed almost instantly, according to two witnesses, and she was smiling down at her phone when she was killed. She hears her aunts whispering about her, and is relieved whilst her quality buddy, Lorena, indicates up. Although Amá thinks Lorena is wild and slutty, which Julia admits she is—Lorena has been Julia’s first-class pal due to the factual faculty. The 2 are massively one of a kind now, but still inseparable, and as she embraces Julia she whispers phrases of assist and team spirit earlier than “shooting eye-daggers” at Julia’s nosy aunts. As Julia appears behind the room, she sees a man she doesn’t understand sitting there and crying. Julia assumes the man is a distant uncle or cousin. Julia briefly wonders who the man could be, but is distracted while Olga’s I am not your perfect mexican daughter Chapter 1 Summary exceptional pal Angie enters the room, wailing and “howling” in grief. Julia needs she should comfort Angie, however “by no means” knows what the right aspect to say is.