I Stand Here Ironing- Jordan Dace

The idea of turning a troubled childhood into an experience that forms a talent is very interesting. Though there were many problems Emily had to face growing up, it would seem she persevered by turning towards comedy making it almost like her purpose in life. As I read towards the end of this story, it appeared as if Emily's life was coming to a happy ending, but then as I kept reading, I believe it fell short of that. Her mother's guilt towards her daughter's horrible childhood makes her so accepting of Emily's life decisions. Even though Emily is a popular comedian among different groups of people, she is still uneducated and does not plan on receiving a diploma. As pointed out when she brushes off her mother's idea to wake her up for midterms, it is apparent that comedy is her only priority because it is her source of happiness. Emily's mother can see that and allows her to be this way because she feels after all she put her through she at least owes her this. The mother tries to rationalize this parenting decision by comparing her daughter to other people and how we all fall short in life in some aspect or another. I believe even given the time period, a diploma is still important and should hold more value to Emily regardless of her history or source of happiness. I also noticed the story doesn't continue to say whether or not the daughter actually became consistantly successful with comedy to the point where she makes money off of it. For all we know this could very well be the short highlight of Emily's life.