Common App Essay: My Parent's Recent Divorce

I am the product of divorced parents, who struggled with substance abuse, but that does not define me. My childhood consisted of poverty-stricken environments; however, I refused to let that dictate the outcome of my life. At the age of ten, I had to assume the role of a fatherly figure to my three siblings, so I missed out on the conventional childhood most would have had. I grew up in east Bakersfield where substance abuse, gangs and criminal acts of violence were a pervasive occurrence, and I resiliently avoided the peer pressures to conform to their way of life. From the ages of 11 to 15, I would work for my grandfather at the local swap meet on the weekends so that I could help my mother make ends meet. I received my worker 's permit at the age of 15, which elevated my ability to help my mother financially as now I earned a set wage. I worked the maximum hours allowed as a minor while balancing my academics and extracurricular school activities at school. Although faced with much adversity early on in life, I managed to be a scholar triathlete in high school and was accepted to California State University, Bakersfield after graduating from Foothill High. I was determined and excited to be the first college graduate in my family, as I understood the economic importance of this achievement. Sadly, after my freshman year of attending the university, I had to put my educational endeavors on hold to assist my mother and siblings further financially.

There is one loss in my life that affected many aspects of my life for many years, the divorce of my parents. I was in barley entering the first grade and the tender age of five, soon to turn six, when my parents spent their last night as a married couple. I do not have many memories of my parents as a couple but I do remember the day my Daddy left. He was a policeman and I watched as his cruiser drove away from our family home. I remember my mom crying and not being willing to console me or explain to me what was happening. All I knew is there was a fight, my dad left, it seemed different than other times when he left, and my mom was crying. Everything about my life changed in the blink of a five year old’s eyes which is what makes this loss so significant in my life.

Six years ago, a summer afternoon, my dad hugged me and I said “I will be gone for three days, I have a job in Austin, but I promise that I will be back before your birthday. I promise.” Days, weeks, months almost two years passed by and I did not receive any phone call or text message from him. Throughout that time my dad was gone, my mom told me that she was getting the papers ready to divorce my dad. I was noticing that the last three-four years that I was living with both of my parents, their relationship was getting worse. It was not a healthy situation for anyone in the house. What I mean about not being healthy is that my mother and father were damaging one another, emotionally and verbally, which my brothers and I would watch everything. Every day was the same routine, we forgot how it was to have a peaceful home. Around that moment, I honestly never thought divorce was going to be their solution.

During high school, I struggled to maintain my grades and focus. I was in a small town, and every ounce of opportunity seemed to slowly be sucked away from the town as the years past with the aid of the downward economic spiral beginning. I felt, like many of my fellow classmates, that opportunity had passed us by. I didn’t dare conjure even the thought of attending Eastern; it would’ve been too similar to the

Even though situations seem averse they might become positive in the end. To me and probably most people in my situation would say that their parents being divorced would be a negative situation. Although at the time I was distraught, I learned that my parents divorce might have not been helpful at first, but later on it affected my life dramatically.

     With this ring I thee wed…. For better or worse, for richer or poorer…. Traditionally, two people speak these words on their wedding day, the day that two become one, the day that two people begin a life together and share an unbreakable union. This may be so in some cases but not all. Divorce among Americans is rampant. In society today divorces are as common as marriages themselves. Couples meet, date, fall in love, marry, and have children and then one day: Wham! Something is just not right with the relationship anymore, so they opt for the easy way out, the big "D". They get a divorce, is this really the easy way? The legalities and dissolution of the union may be easy and painless,

My parents divorced when I was about seven years old, and my mom became the custodial parent. As my younger sister and brother, and I could adapt to always going back and forth between our parent’s. The challenging thing about having divorced parents is meeting their new significant other, which I have met multiple of them. Another thing is meeting my parent’s significant other’s children. Each person I met was nice, and if I was meeting a toddler, they were energetic. Although, each time I did meet these people, I was usually very distant and dramatic.

When I first looked for a topic, it was harder than I thought. As I picked up my pen and paper everything evanesced. When the topic searching wasn’t going well, I tried to define the word family. Ooh did I think long and hard, but realized that everybody’s definition was personal and different based on their feelings and memories. I thought long and hard into my family history and adorned the memory of our vacation to South Dakota, along with the activities attached to the trip. In my family narrative, I will be explaining a family trip to Mt. Rushmore, Kalahari, and the wild experience of standing in a glass box staring down from the Willis Tower, trying to unlock my personal definition of the word family. Now, let’s jump to the exhilarating trip to South Dakota!

Personal Narrative: Divorce Mum had briefly informed me that we were going to a place that would

The school year was starting; excitement was in the air, nerves were high, and the smell of sweat was almost too intense to bear. But it was senior year for some of these students here at Winslow Academy and that meant the first graduation class for this new charter school. Higher education was now ready to be offered to those willing to attend the academy, and to those that were forced to attend do to parental control. The thought of being academically challenged crossed young Babbots mind, but little did he know what he would be in store for under the grand rule of General Peltier.

I’ve been blindsided twice in my life, literally and figuratively. The first time at age seven. A drunk driver hit me while I walked through a parking lot, and again at sixteen, when my parents divorced. The closeness of my family was the basis of our survival after the accident, and conversely, why surviving the divorce was nearly impossible. Dinners were shared at the kitchen table every night, playing “high-low,” sharing the best and worst parts of our day. Friends always filled our house and would play “high-low” too; they found a stability in our home which they could not find in their own.

These years were great, however, I couldn’t find the right ways to apply myself, and more often than not, I made poor judgment calls that led me to failure. After my junior year, I realized that I needed to yet again make a change in my life and I decided that I needed the structure of military school to teach me how to reach my full potential, and that school was Massanutten Military Academy. I enrolled for the summer program and there I began to take on the challenges that were presented to me, and I made a significant change to my work ethic. Once I got back from summer school, my social life had yet again taken over my

When I was in middle school, I struggled to get good grades and follow directions. June 5th 2015 marked the day I was sent to St. John’s. It was a painfully cold morning and all the clouds were grey. I had fallen asleep on the couch the previous night and woke to 2 large men watching my every move. My mom had threatened to send me to military school many times; however, I never took the threat seriously. Once I had opened my eyes I realized the threats weren’t just a joke. I had a gut feeling I knew exactly why these 2 men were here. Even when not in comfortable situations it’s important to set positive goals. Not everyone sets goals for their military and academic department, the overriding benefits of setting goals include higher grades, Gain leader qualities and most specifically, the opportunity to grow, which will result in a more accomplished adult life.

Families have their own ways of getting along and getting through tough and emotional times. Some talk it out and some even just give nothing but silence to each other. Some can't even forgive each other for years and years. All of that sounds so bad to go through. Even though there are those times of disagreement there are families who have a blast with each other. Theres so many different ways problems can be solved, but I love how unique my family gets through things. Now your views of a family being happy and my views are gunna be different. You may even say my views sound like an unhappy family. Even if you don't agree with my family ways doesn't mean it doesn't work. In this essay I'm going to try and show you my views both happy and unhappy families in my experience.

Divorce has become a natural aspect of today’s culture, and formidable divorce rates are drastically impacting children, causing them to lose many vital components of a stable childhood. A broken family will become a normal circumstance for that child and they may fall in the same trap later in life (WF—Lawyers np). Divorce can occur for many reasons, such as lack of commitment, constant arguments, and early marriage (WF—Lawyers np). These problems take a role in the majority of divorces, however, solving these major issues through fixing broken relationships has its benefits. Society, unfortunately, shows us that we must replace broken items rather than fix them. Maintaining healthy households and strong family values through the mending