Soko Battsend-Life's Destiny

Life's Destiny

In the 1980's Mongolia had a communist system. The government had most of the control and oversaw everything. Citizens did not even have the freedom to choose the area of study or major in school. It was entirely up to the government. Each year they had some predetermined number of students who only can study a certain major. From Erdenet city, for example, there could be five male doctors, twelve female cashiers, and twenty male farmers. Every city had a preset or established number of career paths. It has been over thirty years since this system ended, but it still has effects on our family.

One effect of this system was that it caused my father to choose law as a major. From a young age he dreamed of becoming an art teacher because he loves to sketch and paint. Also, it was an honor to be a teacher. Unfortunately, another wealthy male took his spot. When he went to clarify everything with his father, their only choice was law school or to wait until the following year. Consequently, he chose to study law. After a couple of months with just a single suitcase and without knowing anyone, my father moved to Ulaanbaatar city, the capital of Mongolia. At law school, he met my mother and later fell in love with her. Now they are still going strong, with thirty-three years of a happy marriage and three beautiful daughters. The way to reach this happy family; however,it was not easy at all.

Although my parents did not have the freedom to choose their career, the government put them on the a right path. Feeding and clothing a family of five was no easy task for a young low income couple. Thus, to supplement their income by day, they started a retail clothing business by night. In every free moment from the notary work my parents had they worked hard to provid a family of five.  Since communism ended in Mongolia, the law had some changes, and notary services became a private business.  As a result all the notaries in Mongolia stopped getting stable salary. Instead, they started to get all the profit but paying taxes to the government. My father dedicated himself to his job. In the law industry, they honored him as chairman of Mongolian Notary Board. Ultimately, my parents stopped their second job and established their own practice where they are attorneys at law.

My sister who was not born in 1980's was ultimately effected by communism as well. My father passed his job down to my sister and she followed his footsteps. Growing up she was always around discussions of my mother and father about their work. At age of five my sister used to play pretending to be a lawyer. My parents knew how hard it is to be a lawyer; hence, they didn't want her to become a lawyer. However, she went to law school and proudly graduated, making her young age dream come true. I am proud to say that she has become successful in the family business.

Every major or minor event can effect present and future generations. I'm glad that communism had a good effect on my family. If my father had never become a lawyer I could never have asked to study in America, and more importantly if he hadn't met my mother my sisters and I may have not existed. I believe in destiny, and I want to say that everything has two sides positive and negative. If some doors close today, some will open tomorrow.