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Introduction
Chanel Swint
My family and I have a relationship that is very different from the norm. Everyone who watches us communicate and respond to one another is taken aback by our weirdness. We are not your typical family and are quite happy being this way. So to express my feelings toward my lineage, I thought I would compose my three stories around my family, the Rawlings, and the childhood memories that they influenced so richly. The childhood memories I decided to share are from when I was really young, such as the age of eight to ten, to my older childhood days, from when I was seventeen years old. I wanted to mix the two themes because my family had so much impact on the way I grew up and were the directors of my perspective on a lot of things as well. I am most proud of my family and the individuals in it that make it so crazy, yet so special and extraordinary.
The first essay is reminiscent of when I was more carefree and didn’t “look both ways before crossing the street.” “The Tragic Ride Across the Street” was a memorable day because it influenced the way I look at my life from then on. I am more careful and in touch with my surroundings after seeing how much attention I really wasn’t paying to certain things by just assuming that everything was going to go well with no consequences. My family was there for me and I greatly appreciated it. I learned a good lesson, while the experience stayed true to the saying, “No pain, no gain.”
The second essay, “Family Circle of Trust” is a story that really reflects my relationship, not with my family as a whole, but with the younger generation of us. There are five of us that are around the same age and we always treated each other like best friends. We always looked out for one another and we made sure this pact would last, no matter what. There are some battles that we overcame, which are explained in the story, and it really displayed the heart that we invested in our “circle.”
The third essay, “Senior Promenade,” is a finale of the series of stories, as well as what I identified to be the end of my childhood. I was a high school senior ready to graduate, but still trying to enjoy the last days of the journey, which included living the dream that I thought to be prom. It talks about how the years following up to senior year were experienced, and how it still influenced the final year. I had one of the members of the “family circle of trust” there with me, but some obstacles still rose into the occasion.
I really enjoyed writing these stories because they took me back to those days and it was like I was living them again. Having to explain everything in depth and go into detail really brought out the “realness” of these events again. By reviewing these moments in time, it also helped me revive the love and appreciation that I have for my family and the lessons that I learned through them as a child, and, to be truthful, presently as well.
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