I am Aurora Jackson

“Aurora!” Ma called from the kitchen, “Come help me.” That was my wake up call. I jumped out of bed knowing that if she had to come in here, things would not be fun for me. I put on my old dress, tied the apron around my waist, and headed only a few steps to the kitchen. My mother wakes up everyday before me and when I was young I would ask her why she would wake up early and work so much. She always answers the same thing, “When you are a woman you will understand, you must work hard at everything you do, even if nobody is appreciative of it.” I am now older and I am beginning to understand what she means. My mother and I do all of the work around here, with the occasional help of my younger sister, and nobody seems to understand or appreciate. I often imagine what it would be like to be a wealthy woman. I would be able to get an education. On the other hand I often wonder if my life is better than theirs. Is that possible? Maybe, I remember just last week Alexis Montgomery was married off to just about the most horrible man I’d ever heard of, she was miserable, but she had no choice. Could my life be easier than the women sitting inside all day sewing and learning how to speak properly?

Although their lives seem pretty easy, they’re not. I have hard work to do everyday, but at least I have control over myself and some of my own freedom. Therefore I get to run around outside, no one cares how I speak, I won’t have to get married to a horrible being, and I have a family who cares about me as a person, not as just the wife in training of some random rich guy. I get to wake up to the same beautiful sounds everyday. The birds are chirping, chickens clucking, cows mooing, and Ma’s voice travels through the house. I have many, many jobs to do during the day. Some are, cooking, cleaning, sewing, candle making, fire starting, caring for my youngers siblings, and looking after ma. A bunch of these things that I have to do smell horrible so I like some better than others. These jobs aren’t hard for me, some of them I actually think are fun. For example, when I get to look after my little sister and brother, June and francis, it’s fun because we get to work together and laugh and have fun. My life overall isn’t as bad as some people think it is and I’m happy to be who I am.