Growing up, I was always an interpreter. It was always just easier for me to show up and interpret with either of my parents, than for them to have to order an actual interpreter. Because of that, I definitely learned more than I should have at a young age. For a couple years, I would go to my brothers parent teacher conferences and interpret, when in reality, it probably wasn’t any of my business how he was doing in school. It was never much of an issue for me, but as a child, interpreting was both natural and a hassle, just because I was lazy and didn’t want to go to appointments that weren’t for me.
Even to this day, I still interpret occasionally for my parents. At holidays, I interpret prayers or speeches, and I occasionally will join a parent at the eye doctor, although they both are fairly good at communicating without me. I tend to still be the middle man when it comes to party planning, or just making sure that everything is understood and clear.
I don’t mind interpreting, however when I was younger, I felt like I had a lot of responsibility that I didn’t always want. Because of the conversations that I was in on, I always just felt like I couldn’t always just be a child, because I was helping my parents do grown up things. I don’t necessarily think it ended up being a bad thing, but at that time, I hated it. But now, it’s something that I’ve considered pursuing.
Life As A CODA 