In this week’s blog, I listened to Lulu Wang’s podcast What You Don't Know and have interpreted and annotated her story in order to write about a moment that had a negative impact on my life from a choice my parents made, in particular from my dad. I haven’t personally made any decisions that have a negative impact, so below is a moment I know that fits well for this week’s post.
I looked down at the purple and gold pamphlet, the students on the cover smiled at me. I became excited because I already knew I wanted to apply to this school early in my senior year of high school, to West Chester University. All three of my brothers attended, along with my older sister and my mom. The campus was basically engraved in me, how could I not go there? I walked up the stairs to show my mom the possibility to my future. As I opened the door, my mom already knew what I wanted to discuss. She sat on her bed with blue papers laid out in front of her. She told me to get my twin sister Ana so we could discuss our college plans. It seemed difficult for her to express, but she eventually explained that she was unable to send the both of us to a four-year university. My sister and I were crushed; she wanted to attend West Chester for Early Education and I for Studio Arts. Of course, we didn’t plan on liking the same school, but we assumed it would be affordable for our mom. In my mom’s hand, she held a paper with a graph of the cost of community college compared to a four-year college. There was a drastic difference, but I didn’t want to say anything. My mom described that in order for her to afford to send us to college, we would have to attend community college. Ana and I sat there in silence. We didn’t fight back as we usually did because we didn’t want to hurt her feelings. We nodded and agreed to this decision. Although my mom made the conclusion to send my sister and I to community college, it was made due to the financial impact my dad had caused for my family. The financial decisions my father had caused for me and my family had made a huge negative impact on my life. He destroyed my mom's credit. I still love him, but this decision had affected my future. My family and I lived in a beautiful home, with a pool and backyard. Friends and family regularly visited and we hosted many gatherings and parties. In 2012, we discovered that we had to move and my mom was forced to become self-supportive. We eventually found a small house, and I began to feel as though life was moving too fast. My dad’s choices caused me to become depressed. I saw a psychologist which made me feel a little better, but it didn’t bring back my old life. Eventually I recovered, but I am still faced with the remnants of the choices my dad had produced. My dream of attending my first college choice was ruined. Even though I am receiving a great education from community college at a lower price, I am at a loss of experiences and independence I desperately crave.
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Chrissie FackenthallI will use this blog to write and post weekly assignments for my English Composition I course at Delaware County Community College Archives
December 2018
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