Personal Narrative: Single Parent Home

Since I was a kid, I had a ton of responsibilities, cleaning up after myself, doing chores, managing to not fight with my brother, although we fought all day everyday, but you know, it happens. One thing that I didn't know wasn't normal was parenting your parent. I go to school do all my class work and during recess and lunch I listened to all the other kids talk about going to the park after school and eating dinner together with their parents. When I got home from school, I had to do my homework and then take care of my mother. Bring her things she needed such as food, water, help her with many other simple everyday activities. Of course I wasn't the only one who was her “little helper” as she put it, my dad helped her and my older brother by two years,

Growing up in a household full of girls with a single mother, I learned how to be strong and independent. My mother was never really the type of mother to be affectionate, she had more of a tough love point of view. I was always expected to get the best grades I could possibly have along with being focused and determined to go to college which most of my family did not do. My mother taught me how to always be respectful and have good manners especially when it came to other adults. From the age of 5, I was doing chores in the house, and setting goals for my future.

I was fifteen years old when my mother invited me to help out with the local foster home. When I arrived at the foster home I began to cry in response to the young children that I saw. It was difficult for me to understand the children's emotions initially but throughout the day I learned the reason behind their joy. Most of the foster children were grateful for the little deeds that the volunteers performed for them because we showed that we cared about them. In all honesty many people take for granted the advantages they have for succeeding in life. The foster children that I've seen that day were limited because they did not have the physical and the emotional support of their families. I did not realized how blessed I was to have a loving

My parents divorced when I was about seven years old, and my mom became the custodial parent. As my younger sister and brother, and I could adapt to always going back and forth between our parent’s. The challenging thing about having divorced parents is meeting their new significant other, which I have met multiple of them. Another thing is meeting my parent’s significant other’s children. Each person I met was nice, and if I was meeting a toddler, they were energetic. Although, each time I did meet these people, I was usually very distant and dramatic.

I’m in the prison line minding my own business as a few girls punch me. I did nothing to them, but that day i was getting out of prison and the girls get jealous if the others get out. The police are sending me to a foster home. My seventh one and i’m hoping it’s the last. My head is throbbing and there is a cut on the upper part of my lip. Before I leave I ask where is my brother you said you promise would never split us apart. The social worker finds my brother and he is taken out of the home he is in, now he is with me I feel safe.

The mission trip to New Orleans. I had let Jesus into my heart but I started to get this desire and passion to want to start following him, but I didn't know what that looked like or what that meant or how to do it. And so I prayed and longed for him to show me that. As we headed down to New Orleans, the back of my van started to get into really good conversations about life and each other and Katie Thul asked the question that forever has changed my life. “What has been the hardest part of your life so far?”. This might not seem like to bad of a question, but the fact of the matter was that I had never told anybody about the dark and gritty parts of my life before. I had always bottled it up, to scared to tell anyone because I feared what people thought of me, to afraid they’d turn away. And as people went around sharing, it came my time to share and I knew I couldn't do it, so I said I didn't want to share, and as they went around deep inside me I was being told I needed to. I needed to let it out and just speak. And so they came back to me and I let them in, I told them about what I had gone through and as I was in tears I looked up and saw this kid looking back at me from the front of the van. He wasn't apart of the conversation we were having but you knew he was listening in and as our eyes met, he was in tears. I then realized that this was Anna’s brother. This was the kid. That week I embraced my past and used it to help and grow and evangelize this kid, Jackson. I knew what to say because I was in the exact spot he was in just a year earlier. The Lord showed me that I can make a difference in people's lives through him. God opened my eyes to the people I had around me. He put Sydney into my life, someone who on this trip poured a tremendous amount of wisdom, truth, and love into me and essentially pushed me to love and follow Jesus recklessly and at all costs. So many people, from Ally to Zach, to

Someone broke into my car and about $400 worth of cash and items were stolen.

I woke up on the couch, screaming with tears running down my face. I tried to stop yelling, but I couldn’t. If I didn’t stop yelling Sebastian will wake up and then Lin and Vanessa will wake up and be furious with me. Suddenly, I hear footsteps coming from Lin and Vanessa’s room. Oh no, I woke one of them up, I quickly covered my mouth. I must look crazy, a teenage girl sitting on a couch disgustingly sobbing with her hand gripping her hand over her mouth tightly. The person who came out the Lin and V’s room was finally in front and I recognized the person as Vanessa. She sat next to me and swiftly encompassed me into a comforting cuddle position.

I woke up on a warm sunny Saturday morning and went down stairs and called my friend Joey Gliech and said “Today is the day!”

I HAD BEEN ASLEEP QUITE SOUNDLY FOR A COUPLE HOURS, WHEN I WAS AWOKEN BY AN ALL TOO FAMILIAR SOUND. IT SEEMED LIKE EVERY TIME MY BRAIN REGISTERED CERTAIN NOISES - EVEN WHEN I WAS DEEP IN SLEEP, IT SENT OFF A PANIC TRIGGER THAT FLOODED THROUGH MY MIND. THIS WAS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE TIMES.

For the first time I discovered the Bible… I had often preached. I had seen a great deal of the Church. And talked and preached about it, but I had not yet become a Christian… I know that at that time I turned the doctrine of Jesus Christ into something of personal advantage for myself… Also I had never prayed, or prayed very little. Then the Bible, in particular the Sermon on the Mount freed me from that. Since then everything has changed. (Metaxas 2010, 123).

I never settled into that strange group home on Farris street, in the great state of Arkansas where my only relative told me she felt stuck. My mom always talked alot, she never stopped to listen, she said on that day, "I really gave you a great name, you know? Esmer. I made you so beautiful, what a beautiful name. At least the man I made you with didn't get in the way of that. You can really make something of yourself here, man what a chance! You have a chance here, you know." No. Because just like my mom, Mindy, who I remember to be tall with buldging green eyes and a mind so wondering, I wonder if she ever saw me or her surroundings as much as she saw her own yearnings; I've decided at 16 when life seems so inviting, shocking, daunting but

I didn't want to go to the dinner because Frank would be there with Gloria. Earlier I told Wes we shouldn't go to the dinner with his parents. He got mad and said what was he suppose to do, break it of with them. I just left it alone because I didn't feel like arguing. When we was close to the ranch Wes shouted to us we could go camping at they Yellowstone to see the geyers. I told him a real vacation would be to see the mountains. This vacation promise he made to us meant Wes and I wasn't fighting anymore. I was relieved. When we finally arrived I saw Franks truck covered in dirt. They were already here. I didn't like Wes parents house. It was too much for my eyes. My parents home was much better. Wes father was already outside waiting for

Daniel: When you get married you are expected to move into a house right away with your spouse and live happily ever after. That is what I expected to happen when I moved in with my new wife and our son on the way. We had been looking for a house in Atlanta, but we had not had much luck in finding a perfect home to raise our son in that was within our price range. We have been living in a one bedroom apartment, it is just not big enough for the three of us. One day I saw an ad in the paper for a home in Ansley Park historic homes and estates. The house was priced so low for the way it looked and it’s location. I told Lila about it was soon as I saw, right away we called our real estate agent to go and look at the home.

"Okay, Leo." My dad said as he pulled up to the building in his car. "This is a safe place for you to stay. Just. . . Don't do anything that would get you kicked out. Promise?"