Changes by Ahasan

My father’s career choice changed my life forever. I grew up living with my immediate and extended family which included my parents, brothers, cousins and my grandmother. I knew from my childhood that my father had a high political ambition but that my mother was always against his dreams. My mother wanted my father to go in to business, which he inherited from his family. My father quit his family business and became involved in politics in 1988. His involvement in politics was an event that has had a profound influence on my life. After my father became involved in politics, it created some problems for family and me, but I also gained some extra opportunities because I was the child of a politician.



After my father became fully active in politics, our family moved from the countryside to the capital city of Bangladesh, and I faced some problems because I became separated from one of my family members. As I grew up with my extended family, I did not feel good without my grandmother. During my childhood, my grandmother was an amazing person to me. I missed her very much after moving away. Soon after leaving my grandmother, she died and I felt even worse for moving away. Losing my grandmother was one of the biggest shocks in my life. I felt that she might not have died if I had not left her. Slowly I got sick due to the death of my grandmother because I missed her. If my father had not been involved in politics, maybe I could have stayed with her and not felt that my absence caused her to die. Also, the separation of my family changed my life just like my father changed his profession. I became lonelier and felt depressed, and this was a big change for me because I used to be happy and optimistic.



During his early years in politics my father neglected my family and me in several ways. My father had quit his family business which was our main source of income. At the beginning of his political career he was busy with his politics. He did not have enough time to focus on our family because he was always traveling to the city, which was why he could not take care of us financially. Because my father was not there, my mother worked hard to provide for us. At that time, my father had to spend money for his political purposes, so his family was not his top priority. Also, my brothers and I were not able to afford school tuition for several months because my father did not provide us money. Because of his politics, he only gave us enough money for food and so we did not have extra money for school. After my father became involved in politics, his change in lifestyle caused him to overlook me, which had a crucial effect on me and my family.



Despite the problems I faced, I had some extra opportunities to meet some famous politicians and to visit some important places. My father sometimes came home during his visit and took me to some political conferences with him. In this way, I met with Mahathir Muhammad who was the founder of modern Malaysia, Abdur Rahman Biswas, the former president of Bangladesh and Sonia Gandhi, the political leader of India. One of my most memorable meetings was with Mr. Biswas. I remember when I met him, he asked me if I wanted to go into politics like my dad. I was shy because it was my first time meeting him and I smiled and told him that I didn’t like politics. After meeting those politicians, I felt that I was lucky to be a politician’s son. I also visited some special places which had a great effect on me. For example, we visited the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. It was a beautiful palace with many domes and people all around it. I was amazed to see this palace which was built by India’s emperor Shah Jahan in honor of his beloved wife.

Overall, I had some disadvantages and advantages because my father chose politics instead of the family business. Growing up with my extended family, and then moving to a new place and moving away from someone special were bad incidents for me. If my father had not been involved in politics, I would not have been separated from my family and I might not have been neglected. But even though I had some difficulties, I remember many happy times due to my father’s career. For example, during one of our visits to India, my father surprised me with a camera, which was the first camera of my life. I kept that camera for many years and it was a memory of the positive moments I had with my father. Despite my problems, I was proud of my father because he gave me some opportunities to learn more about life.