Darian Heers

Mat Wenzel

ENC 2135 63

10 October 2017

 

As a young girl, I could never understand why I had to do everything; wash the dishes, push mow the yard, pick up limbs, do the laundry. These jobs were also shared with my twin sister, but it was just us doing it. I can remember talking to the boys at school and being astonished when hearing they didn’t even have to mow their yard, it was their dads who did it or they payed someone to. I couldn’t wrap my head around why my parents had me – a girl – do it. As I grew up, my understanding expanded.

            My dad was raised as the youngest of four in a poor family. They never had very much and everything they did have they put their blood, sweat, and tears into getting. At the age of sixteen he left home, dropped out of school, and went to make a name for himself. As most may know, it isn’t always easy finding a job as a minor. So, until he could find a job he was unable to find a place to live. Without any other options, he began to squat under the bridges around town. He was finally able to find some small jobs and began to save up to buy a house. He worked and saved until he could find a place to live and then went to get his GED. One of the jobs he worked was at a local pest control company. He was responsible for spraying houses and gaining new customers. While working at this company he began to realize that this was something he was good at and he managed to gain the company 50% of the customers they had when he started. After working there for a good while and not getting a promotion, he decided to go to vocational school in order to open his own pest control company. He succeeded in getting all of the licenses he needed and opened his own company, building it up to its successful place today. My mom was the same way, having to help work to provide for two twins at the age of twenty, while my dad was trying to create his own company and gain his own customers. Due to their lifestyles growing up my parents sought to show me that how hard someone works is the only testament to what kind of person they are. They taught me that many people nowadays believe that they are entitled to certain things. Hence why I didn’t get an iPhone until I was a sophomore in high school. They felt that kids my age all felt they deserved one just because everyone else had one. They wanted to teach me that I must work for everything, that nothing in my life would come “just because.” Another big thing that kids my age always received was an allowance. My mom always said that my “allowance” was being able to live and eat here. Once I got older and understood that money definitely does not grow on trees, she told me that all of the things I did around the house was me “paying” for all the things they bought me that I didn’t need. My parents also worked to make sure we were all very close-knit. It was a small town and there wasn’t much to do anyway, so on the weekends, we spent time with the family either working or doing things outdoors. I mainly kept ties with my friends only at school, though my best friend was allowed to come over and even attended many of these family affairs. Even during high school, I rarely stayed at someone else’s house or even went to get bites to eat, you know the typical teenage thing to do in a small town. I normally hung out with my sisters or with my mom and dad. My parents made sure that family was the number one thing in life.         

           

As I begin my college experience, I am tremendously nervous about my road ahead. I feel the fact that I am the first in all my family to go to college, only adds onto this nervousness. The summer before leaving, I felt so misinformed about what my college experience might be like since there was no one close to me that I could talk to about it. My mom new my feelings about going to college and how well I might do, in a way that only a mother can know things about her children. We never really discussed these feelings out loud though. The day we moved into my dorm was especially hard for me, I had never been without my family all my life. My twin sister and I had only ever spent the night away from each other twice since the day we were born, and that was only for the days I was at orientation. My family had always been right there beside me, and all of a sudden, they were gone. I could no longer run into my sister’s room and share something I thought was interesting from a book we both were reading, or cry on my mom’s shoulder when things weren’t going my way, or ask my dad for his expert advice when I was in a sticky situation. I was on my own now. After everyone had left and my roommates were off with their families still, I sat down on my bed, still sobbing from my family’s departure, and heard the sound of paper crinkling. Under my pillow, I found a note that my mom had left me while we were moving all of my things in. Most would be able to guess what the letter said or at least the main theme. One of the most special points in the letter is when my mom reassures me that no matter what situation I face, I can overcome it with hard work and dedication. Whenever I am doubting myself or my abilities, I pull the letter out of the drawer and reread it. I feel that the letter encompasses all of the great things that I cherish about my family. It reminds me of how much love and support I have and that no matter where I go I am never truly alone.