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How a family can influence your personal choices
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It all started the day I woke up to my parents arguing. It was a warm morning, but you couldn't see the sky thanks to the thick and ashy dust clouds. I walked downstairs and my parents turned and looked at my. My mother greeted me with a warm smile and sighed “sweetheart we have to tell you something,” she said “we have to move.” This surprised me a bit. I love the house. I love this land I've grown up. “Why are we moving?” I asked surprised. She turned to look at my father who looked back at me. “The dust is to heavy out here, if we don't leave now we're going to go broke” my father said with a sad tone in his voice. I'm so surprised they are really making us leave. I can't believe it! I ran upstairs and started to pack my stuff with tears
I’ve never heard of any childhood quite like yours. I was shocked by the personality and character of your parents and how they raised you and your sibilings, “The Glass Castle”. I understand why people call your parents monsters. I will admit that the thought crossed my own mind on multiple occasions. However, I have also never read a book or a memoir that required so much thinking . With every page I read I was able to learn about the struggles & hardships you dealt with as a child and I tried to see a deeper meaning. When I did that, I saw your parent’s intentions behind everything they did. I began to understand what you saw and still see in your parents.
When I walked inside the front door something didn’t seem right. The feeling of sorrow overwhelmed the house. It was so thick I could literally feel it in the air. Everyone was motionless. They were sulking;I was befuddled. The most energetic people in the world, doing absolutely nothing. I repeatedly asked them what was wrong. After an hour or so, my dad pulled me aside. He said that my Aunt Feli had passed away last night. My mind went for a loop, I was so confused. I thought that he was joking, so I replied “You’re lying, don’t mess with me like that.” and punched his shoulder softly while I chuckled. My dad quickly started tearing up and said, “There...
It was the fall of 2010 and little did I know that my world was about to change drastically. We had moved back to Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2008 after living in Mexico, and I was starting to enjoy my life in the dairy state. My 6th Grade classes had just started at Bullen Middle School. It was right at this time when my world seemingly got flipped upside down. My parents had a family meeting and informed my siblings and me that we were moving to a small Iowa town called Orange City. I had feelings of nervousness, excitement, and sadness all mixed together.
For many young people, the idea of moving is absolutely forbidden. Why would anyone want to start over, again and again, having to make new routines, meet new people and somehow learn to accept that you won’t be with your friends anymore? Most of us would rather avoid the topic all together, but occasionally, it can’t be helped. People move for many reasons; maybe a tragic event occurred that needs to be escaped, maybe job opportunities popped up, or a job itself even requires the move.
Before, I could even take note, it was already October. It was time for me to pack everything in my room, and say my final goodbyes to my family members. I was going to leave everything that meant a lot to me behind. Previously, before October, we picked up my dad from the airport so that he could help us load all of our belongings to the U-Haul truck. Lily, ‘my cousin’, (we aren’t related, she is just a very close friend who I consider family) was staying with use because she want to see her father, who was also living in Denver. My mom and dad, sister, uncle, cousin, and I all stayed at the house one last night. I remember that my sister said that all her friends gathered around my mom’s car to wave goodbye to her. Her closest friends got very emotional and they started to cry. Not only did the move affect me, it also affected my sister greatly. It was like someone had given her a punch in the stomach. By the next day, we had everything in the U-Haul truck, and it was time for me to leave my precious Vegas behind. We had now started the drive to
One late summer night when AAM was ten years old, she was cuddled up with her younger brother and sister in piles of sleeping bags on the floor. The pain of the last few months had graciously excused itself that night while hope, instead, was finally welcomed in. She remembers the night feeling carefree; especially once her parents came into join them. However, the happiness quickly vanished and heart-crushing fear began to set in as her parents said, “We have something to tell you.” Her heart began to beat unsteadily with each breath catching in her throat. She looked around to find her little brother and sister pale and lifeless. Her dad looked distant while her mom was epically failing at hiding her tears. All too soon the four most horrid words AAM would ever hear were said. “We are getting divorced,” her parents stated. At that moment, the entire world crashed down around her; leaving her helpless and alone. All she remembers today is her mom’s piercing cries in her parents’ old bedroom, and the terror-stricken fear of not knowing what will happen tomorrow.
I was born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1935. I was just a day old when my mother and father dropped me off at grandma’s house and never came back. Grandma Rosa said that my father had gambling problems my mother was on and off drugs. Sometimes, grandma said that my mother asked her for money when she was running away from my father because he was abusive. But I wouldn’t know where I would be if my parents would have taken care of me. My parents did not name me so, my grandmother named me after her great grandmother Leslie. The only memory of my mother is her pocket watch that fell out of her purse that day. I’ve been living with my grandmother for ten years. I’m very sure my parents are not coming back. Everyday as soon as I wake up I use the pocket watch. Using it every time I always wonder what it would be like seeing my parent’s faces. My grandmother said to me that everything happens for a reason maybe my parents leaving was for me to live. At school when the kids get out of the schoolhouse they say “don’t step on a crack”. I believe in that ,but it does not apply to me. Just started fifth grade at Frederick Douglas Elementary School. It’s my first year at this school. I can say that it’s a step up from Harriet Tubman Elementary. All the kids in that 4th grade classroom threw crayons and
My parents were in a heated debate over financial issues, an alien topic to my eleven year old intellect. As the discussion grew in excitability and anger, the room sucked into a suffocating density. At this moment I immediately knew where this was leading and rushed my younger brother upstairs out of harm’s way. There was never a physical harm to protect him from, but it was as though I did this to spare his innocent mind from developing into one like mine; doubtful and angry. Why can’t my parents just get along? Why are they even fighting? Why does my life have to be this way? Why me? Why are they so careless of our feelings? What did we do to deserve this lifestyle? Why us? I spent too much time questioning, and pitying myself over the fact that my parents didn’t love me enough to stay happy with each other. Amongst my questioning always came out the little blip that disrupted my parents arguing, “Are you guys getting a divorce?” I’m not quite sure where I first heard the word, but it became my magic word that took all...
Every new graduated high school student wants to get out of their parents’ house. They want independence, and to feel like they are going somewhere in life. Well, that’s what I thought. Moving out was the hardest thing I had done so far. I had just graduated and was barely making any money but I thought oh well so many people move out this young I’m just going to have to work harder, maybe skip school this semester until I can get on my feet to take classes. I knew all too well that I wouldn’t be able to afford it on my own, so I asked my best friend if she wanted to live with me. Little did we both know that living with another person would be a very different experience then living with our parents. We had plenty of fights over messy rooms, the empty fridge, empty bank accounts, and annoying neighbors.
I was wandering through the streets of Philadelphia, I had no job, no food, no money, no family. Until I stumbled upon a small little nice house. On the door, it said Cook Coffeehouse. I never worked as a server for a coffeehouse, or anything like that for that manner. Without hesitation, I opened the door to see a teenage girl. She saw how my clothes were and how bony I was. She took me to the kitchen immediately, and gave me some new clothes. She asks me why i’m here. I told her that I was an orphan and once I turned 18 they kicked me out.
Everything seems like it’s falling out of place, it’s going too fast, and my mind is out of control. I think these thoughts as I lay on my new bed, in my new room, in this new house, in this new city, wondering how I got to this place. “My life was fine,” I say to myself, “I didn’t want to go.” Thinking back I wonder how my father felt as he came home to the house in Stockton, knowing his wife and kids left to San Diego to live a new life. Every time that thought comes to my mind, it feels as if I’m carrying a ten ton boulder around my heart; weighing me down with guilt. The thought is blocked out as I close my eyes, picturing my old room; I see the light brown walls again and the vacation pictures of the Florida and camping trip stapled to them. I can see the photo of me on the ice rink with my friends and the desk that I built with my own hands. I see my bed; it still has my checkered blue and green blanket on it! Across from the room stands my bulky gray television with its back facing the black curtain covered closet. My emotions run deep, sadness rages through my body with a wave of regret. As I open my eyes I see this new place in San Diego, one large black covered bed and a small wooden nightstand that sits next to a similar closet like in my old room. When I was told we would be moving to San Diego, I was silenced from the decision.
When will they be here, when will they be here! That is what I was thinking right before my escape. I had everything perfectly planned out. The beginning of my escape went well. The first part of my grand plan was to make them think that I was just going to sit there and be good for them. So, I sat on my chair content, just waiting. When I heard the big metal scrap pull up outside I slowly started walking to the door. One of the humans always left the door wide open. Then in came the little short one. This was my chance. I bolted to the door. The opening was right there, I could see the light! Then she slammed it closed. She missed my nose by a hair’s length.
Many of the classical travel narratives of the past are presented with a main character, with the story revolving around their journey and experience in foreign places. Examples of the traditional way of travel writing are classics like Love and War in the Apennines by Eric Newby which is about the writers’ journey to Italy and how he met different people, including his wife, throughout the trip (Dalrymple & Theroux, 2011). There are also recent books like Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert which talks about a middle-aged woman’s travel experience as well as her self-discovery during her trip to India. It is a traditional way of travel writing to be a personal narrative and focus on a hero or a heroine. In this essay, I will talk about a
As usual I woke up to the sound of my father pounding on my bedroom door, hollering, “Get up! Get on your feet! You’re burning daylight!” I met my brother in the hallway, and we took our time making it down the stairs, still waking up from last night’s sleep. As we made our way to the kitchen, I thought about what to have for breakfast: fried eggs, pancakes, an omelet, or maybe just some cereal. I started to get hungry. As usual, mom and dad were waiting in the kitchen. Mom was ready to cook whatever we could all agree on, and dad was sitting at the table watching the news. The conversation went as usual, “Good morning.” “How are you today?”
One beautiful day that summer, I was playing outside with my friends when my mom called for me to come home. I did not want to abandon my guard post at the neighbor's tree house so I decided to disregard her order. I figured that my parents would understand my delima and wouldn't mind if I stayed out for another two or three hours. Unfortunately, they had neglected to inform me that my grandparents had driven in from North Carolina, and we were supposed to go out for a nice dinner. When I finally returned, my father was furious. I had kept them from going to dinner, and he was simply not happy with me. "Go up to your room and don't even think about coming downstairs until I talk to you."