Tice Jenkins

Miss Wiederrich

English 2

13 April 2018

One Thing Leads To Another

I felt like I could have prevented it as if it was in the grasp of my hands. It was so complex for a 11 year old boy, but so simple for a 16 year old young adult. The adventure and expedition was the worst part; I was like a detective figuring out all of the clues. I continued to place the what felt like a million pieces together to seek the answer to the golden equation of rocket science. It was more than just following the instructions of how to build a lego set. It was my own journey, my own adversity that changed and shaped who I am.

“We’re moving to Lincoln, Nebraska,” my parents told me. I would have never thought a simple sentence would blow me off my feet. Millions of questions went through my 11 year old mind. I didn’t know why we would change our lives when it seemed to be close to perfect. In my perspective, the pros never was the trump card over the cons. The idea of moving to Lincoln didn’t seem settling to my stomach and the aftertaste was bitter. I wasn’t able to totally comprehend what was happening in the big picture, the only thing I did know is that I was leaving my friends and childhood. The journey I was about to face was like a tidal wave; it was way too powerful for my 11 year old self.

Change seems to be a kids worst enemy as if change seems impossible to overcome. The thought of moving to a new state, new city, new school, and new people was too much for a 11 year old to handle. Little did I know that this major change would develop into a humongous life changing experience. Throughout my childhood, I constantly heard arguments at night between my parents, but I always assumed they would overcome the disastrous disagreement. A simple phrase settled in my head saying, “It’s no big deal there’s always tomorrow,” as I rolled over in my bed. You say those words each day, until there isn’t a tomorrow of a happy family. At one moment life was hauling down the open road, but the next moment you’re hitting every pothole possible.

I never thought that I would hear, “Your dad doesn’t love your mom.” My grandma spoiled that for me turning my confusion into a bittersweet feeling. The bitter part knowing I’m one of those kids with divorced parents. The sweet part is knowing the answer, instead of it being hidden from me. The journey at this point was reasonable to overcome, like the sun breaking the horizon. It all made sense knowing the true reason moving to Lincoln, Nebraska. Although being “closer to family” seemed to be decieving, I constantly saw this action in life a mistake. I didn’t know what to feel or think.

It wasn’t the fact my parents were divorced punctured me, but how they didn’t tell me the grieving news. I questioned them in anger why they hid a life changing experience from me for the longest time and I got this answer… “We didn’t know the best time to tell you. Every time we thought there was a great opportunity, something positive would come up in your life. We didn’t want you to think about our problems as a family when you were enjoying life through your activities.”  Many nights alone thinking were helpful, attempting to gather all of my thoughts in my mind. I felt isolated on a lonely island, only being able to trust myself.

In the back of my head, I always felt like I could have prevented this. Maybe I shouldn’t have played so much gamecube or spent so much time building legos. Maybe I should have spent more time with my family and building a stronger relationship between my parents. Deep down I knew it wasn’t my fault, but I somehow always thought it was. Even if it was my fault what could I do about it? The past is the past and the best thing you can do is keep moving forward through the journey you face.

In life you and I will always have struggles, some more intense than others and some more often than others. We never feel the confidence of success through adversities at one moment, but often we need to realize that life moves on. Adversities are journeys and through those journeys we have the opportunity to learn from those adversities. There is a way to overcome it if you have the heart to pursue and to overcome the struggle you face.

The journey that I had wasn’t a smooth path through the forest, but a journey with many barriers. Ultimately I thought that my adversity was the worst thing ever, which it was, but in the big picture it was beneficial to my life. It developed life long skills that will help me persevere in times of trouble. With that skill I can benefit others by assisting those who are experiencing the similar type of adversity. You and I can’t avoid all adversities; instead continue with the journey that you face and overcome it as life goes on.

Author’s Note:

I’m really pleased with this piece of writing that I wrote. This is my final draft of 3 different drafts. At the beginning I wasn’t sure how to make the piece of writing in a way that’s meaningful to the reader, but also to me. I knew what I wanted to write, but the way was the huge part of this piece. I feel like my big strengths in this piece is having tone. Since the topic of this writing was meaningful to me it was easy to write in a way to reflect how I felt. Another strength I believe is my theme of portraying this piece as a journey that I was attempting to get through. The weakness I struggle with is grammar. I feel like it holds me back in the way I type and somethings aren’t as clear to the readers as they are to me. I would like you to give feedback to me through my grammar and sentence fluency. I always struggle with those things and if you could reflect on those points that’d be great.