Differences in Life Experiences

 After having read the assigned section in Tara Westover’s “Educated,” one pattern that I noticed about the theme was regarding the type of life that the Westover’s lived. In this, a combination of self-reliance and a rural, off the grid lifestyle seem to be key patterns within the theme of the narrative. This struck me as being particularly interesting because it is incredibly different from the way of life that I am accustomed to, even though the author was only born almost ten years before me to the date. This notion itself highlights how the lifestyle of the Westover’s differed from my own, as Tara Westover states, “Shawn and Tyler, the next oldest after Tony, had birth certificates; it was only the youngest four-Luke, Audrey, Richard and me-who didn’t” (Westover 18-19). Because of this, when getting her birth certificate, complications arose because there was question to exactly what the date was. Another instance of this can be seen when after Tara Westover’s Grandma came back from a medical consultation about the cancer she had, her Father stated “Those doctors will just kill you quicker” and instead suggested that she receive herbal treatments instead of that from doctors and hospitals (Westover 92). This is extremely different from what I have experienced in my own life and because of this it is hard for me to relate to the reality of what life was like in this family. In my own family, my birthday was never forgotten and my family always trusted doctors and medical staff and went to get me treatment from them whenever it was believed that I needed it, never opting for herbal treatment. There are many other instances of these differences within the assigned section of this narrative that there are far too many to mention them all. However, it is how these life experiences are so different than my own that I found this pattern within the theme to be as interesting as I did and greatly makes me want to continue reading the rest of this narrative.