From being an exiled out of Cuba to distancing himself in the United states, Perez Firmat had lost his childhood years. Too occupied thinking about the future and the past, he squandered the present. Looking back at his childhood, there are many things that Perez regrets doing; however, everything collectively taught him important life lessons as he made his way into adulthood. Perez Firmat’s transition from childhood into adulthood and from identity crisis to self- acceptance was wrought by not only his relationship to his family and his experiences in education, but also with the help of his children. Initially, Perez Firmat had a challenging time overcoming exile due to his family’s hopefulness about moving back to Cuba. His parents’ unwillingness to make life in America made him feel conflicted about his identity: “My life is a delicate balancing act between two countries, two cultures, two languages. Ask…show more content… From a young age, Perez knew he could not bond with the American children. Even as a graduate student, Perez was unable to connect with neither the students nor the professors due to their view on exiles from Cuba. He illuminates the reasons by saying, “My personal history and conservative politics set me apart from many of my professors and most of my peers, who looked up to Fidel Castro and who spoke of the Cuban Revolution as a model for the rest of Latin America” (Perez Firmat 148). From their outsider perspective, it looked to these Americans like Castro was the hero and the Cuban exiles were betraying their country by moving away. Perez states, “I didn’t socialize very much, which earned me a reputation for aloofness” (148). He acknowledges the reputation he has amongst his fellow students, but he knew that there was no way he could ever be friends or even be an acquaintance of people who hold these views on his difficult life of
