Post 3: My Short Story

I'd like to preface this by saying I feel that I've had the opportunity to share my life story a lot this year, and the repetition has seemed to render me into telling it more muted. But, that being said, I am trying to avoid that so I chose to model T. C. Boyle's "The Hit Man." I chose this one because, so far, it kept me the most intrigued and I appreciated Boyle's focus to the relevant details and parts of the Hit Man's story. My goal is to include the events and details in my life that I believe have shaped me into who I am today.

So here it goes:

Birthday #1

I was born on a father's day to my two parents.

Divorce

After my second grade year, there was trouble in paradise. My parents were separated, so that left me and my two sisters with my mom. But, that didn't last long.

Rehab! #1

After, a few traumatic experiences and a lot of boyfriends, my mom was sent to rehab. This meaning, we now lived with my dad. My dad, hands down, is the best dad there has ever been- and it was always apparent how much he loved us and how hard he worked for us. Living with my dad was, and is, great. After this incident, my dad now has full custody.

Elementary years-Early High School

Elementary life was great. I had a good group of friends, and for the most part I could work around missing my mom who visited a couple more rehabs during these years. My sisters and I would get to visit down to AL or FL or wherever she would be at the time. Though looking back they weren't particularly safe environments,  but they now make good stories.

    Middle school was also a good time, and I of course has my wonderful sisters and dad who I got to spend majority of my time with. Without them I wouldn't have learned the strength of owning your optimism and the strength of God. 

    Entering High School was an exciting time, and my mom at this point was semi settled down in a house with my new step-dad. Not long after, my mom became pregnant. 

Coraline

My mom gave birth to my little sister. The blessing she was to my family is hard to describe, but she made the down-hill path we had been running down, seem to start trending up. When Coraline turned about 3, my mom and step-dad bought a house. That was a huge change and a great opportunity for all of us. While my dad, since about my 6th grade year, was stable, my mom, by my 10th grade year was finally stable.

    In my 10th grade year, I had also started dating my boyfriend and made some of my best friends. 10th grade was hard, but it was worth it. 

Trouble

Life can never be perfect, and honestly if it were- it would be quite boring. There was a lot of drinking in my house my junior year, and a lot of other drama. My step-dad was arrested and that, of course, put strain on us all. When that happened my mom started to have trouble coping with it all, and fell back into some her old tendencies, though not as extreme as before. 

    During that time, my boyfriend and I mostly took care of Coraline (5 now) when I was at my mom's house and she came and hung out with our friends a lot. I had a good group of friends and managed to keep myself busy junior year.

Senior Year

Senior year I was having a good time; a good set of friends still, doing good in school, getting settled in my church, etc. I stayed busy, as I always do. 

Spring Break there was a house fire that burned down my mom's house. With that; my mom, step-dad, and little sister (Coraline) passed away in the house fire. 

As you might imagine, that shaped the rest of my school year as I was dealing with the loss and school, and how to handle it all. And again, as you might imagine, it is going to shape the rest of my life- choice or not. 

The Here and Now

So, here we are. It'll be a year in March. Right now, I'm in my freshman year of college and though where I am, and how I am today, is not what I planned, I feel content. And, that's not to say I'm not sad or grieving, but I believe God has a purpose through this all. I hope to learn how to use my hurt to one day help other people who feel stuck or are hurting. 

As cliche as it is, I'm beginning to understand the weight of knowing that everyone really is fighting their own battles; public or not. As well as, the weight of living in the moment, appreciating the time you're given, and the people around you. I, of course, have yet to master this, but I'm learning.

On to the next shaping event...

- as another side note: please know, I am not trying to complain and it is really hard to accurately write my life into a short story. I am sad and I am still working through it all; but I am still blessed to be here and have my dad and two sisters. I know that I don't understand now what God is doing (and I may never while on this Earth), but it is for their good and my own good. I am learning to be content in all my circumstances. (Job 1:20-22)