Growing Up Again: A Fictional Narrative

She was in her room. Alone on a windy day the smoke she was creating was circulating all over the house. The smoke was transparent and smelled of Cannabis Sativa. She didn’t want to be bothered. All was quiet the only thing she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat. Then she began to feel weird. She felt something in her stomach. Was it remorse? Maybe it was happiness. Or maybe it was even the feeling of accomplishment. But right after the feeling, her mother comes barreling into the room.

Growing up: change; coming of age; becoming more mature. All throughout life most people desire to grow up and become more of age so they can explore and do the actions they want, and be on a higher level. At the same time they do not want to take on all of the responsibilities, they just want to be independent. Although, typically, growing up can be a choice that some make and some do not. In the First Part Last by Angela Johnson, Bobby made a mistake which caused him to not have a choice; he had a baby in High School, which resulted in him having to become independent quickly, and come of age.

Many underestimate the power that a singular event possesses and the extent at which it can alter one’s mindset. Often times a shift in the method of thinking and processing information, the act which drives our entire being, signifies a “coming of age”. Reaching a pivotal moment in time where not only do those around you recognize the transformation, but you also fully embrace the alteration. In layman's terms, transitioning out of childhood conjures thoughts and ideas that evolve from the foundation of one’s life. For me, the potent mixture of a short-lived period of blissful innocence and a pressurized home environment led to the culmination of a desire to succeed.

In Oklahoma, where there are bloody rumbles and serious crimes made here in this big city, but there is a tiny sixteen year old boy living in the middle of it all, and that was me, Johnny. The Greaser was like a second home for each other. They were rough, old fashion, and have been In rumbles where breaking your arm wasn’t a serious injury, but they help another out. I, in the other hand, was not like them. They say that heroes need a dark past in order to be stronger in the comics I read, but that didn’t happen to me. I was abused by my own parents and I got jumped by those rich Socs. They left scars and pain for me, I felt like I’ve gotten weaker after this, not stronger.

Starting over. Those two simple words pretty much sum up where I am at in my life at the moment. I am a 34 year old mother of three. I have never been to college. My husband just recently left me. It has been a whirlwind summer to say the least, but before I get into what brought me back to school, I'll start at the beginning. I was born in FL., and quite literally spent all my time either at the beach or running bare foot on my grandparents farm. I loved every second. Shortly after I turned 8 my mom met my step-dad, and we were quickly headed on our first big adventure, moving to Texas! While I missed my family in FL., I can not tell you enough how happy I was that my mom married my dad. He has been a rock and solid foundation for me my whole

Coming of age really pursaues Taylor, she was given a new responsibility of taking care of Turtle. She knew what she wanted to do in life and chased it. Even though she was given many obstacles, she handled them maturily and became a great mother along the way. In my eyes, taking on a child in a unsuspected way takes courage and only a grown person handles so well. Lou Anne is Taylor's best friend and roomate. When we first met Lou Anne during this journey she wasn't so sure of herself or what she was worth. Lou Anne allowed people to walk over her and wouldn't speak up for herself. As she beame friends with Taylor and let go of her husband, Angel, she started to do things for herself. She learned she could have her own opinion and had a purpose.

The story of The Boy Who Grew Up at Ta’k’imilding starts off with a boy and his love for singing. The little boy sings all day long, and always listened to what he was told to do. One day while his mother was at the river fetching water the little boy is chosen by the k’ixinay, or supernatural beings that reside in Heaven, to ascend to Heaven in a cloud for a greater purpose. His mother hears her son’s singing coming from the cloud, but once the cloud begins to lift into the sky, the singing goes silent. The son’s parents were very upset about losing their son, and it is not until many years later that the father sees his son again.

A major event in my life that marked my transition to adulthood was the summer of my 9th grade year when I was accepted into a pre-college program called the Young Scholars Program offered at the University of Maryland. Upon arrival they told us you are a college student working for college credit, which scared me because this experience was totally foreign to me. This program had a class called CMSC 198B: Computer Science– A Hands off Approach. This class was an eye opener because I had no indication on what computer science was at the time. I lived on campus with over 100 different students, we were all taking classes there for the summer to gain more educational experiences beyond high school. I was alone without any friends or family for the first time in my life. This was also the first time I had done

“So, he wouldn’t recognize shoes, or even if he did, he wouldn’t necessarily know how to tie them?” Joanne asked in amazement.

Narrator : It was 1956 and Valerie andrews had not been lost for long when she came upon the jacket. It faded into her sight at first and clarified with each step she took. Normally she would choose to leave random jackets in the middle of the road, but the wind had chilled her to the bone and it provided a sense of a well worn youthfulness. It’s red leather went smoothly against her skin, the white lettering on the long sleeves spelled out “TIME TRAVELER” in big block letters. The jacket fit her perfectly, the sleeves even stopped at the edge of hir wrist, a rarity due to their size. And in an inside pocket she found an odd metal device about the size of her hand with several pint sized buttons around the edge and a shiny glass front.

I came to Ridge Family Center for Learning in second grade. On top of being “the new kid” in school, I didn’t know anyone besides my neighbor. She had been going to this school since kindergarten and I ate lunch with her and her friends everyday. One day, as I ate my usual PB & J, she said “Are you excited for the musical?” Apparently it happens every year, yet I was not aware of this. Naturally, being a little kid, I was excited and screamed “Really? I love watching people perform!” My parents loved musicals and took me to see my fair share of them. She gave me a strange look and laughed. “You don’t get to watch. We’re performing on the stage, silly!” My jaw dropped. All I could think about was how scared I was. I was about to sing on stage in front of 200 parents.

Leaving home signifies a coming of age into the beginning of adulthood, they say that’s when you really start to grow up. I was around thirteen years old when when my mother and I left home. It was around that time that I realized I couldn’t be a kid anymore, I no longer had that privilege. Thinking back, it seems like a dream you’ve just woken up from that you only have a vague memory of.

There are plenty of points in my eighteen years that made me grow up more than I really needed to. Moving from Michigan to Spain when I was nine, smoking my first cigarette when I was eleven, my dad leaving when I was eleven, my first alcoholic drink when I was twelve, losing my friends when I was fourteen, et cetera. Some of these were just me trying to act like an adult when I wasn't actually ready, but none of these were some pivotal point in my life where I went from being a child to being an adult. And now that I think about it, maybe that's just not how it works. Maybe adulthood doesn't always come crashing down on you at a major point in your life, but comes in gradually like the sea on a calm day rising higher and higher on the sand.

You would never believe me if I told you that I had dinner with Barack Obama, but it’s true and I can prove it. Last summer, I was in a program called Upward Bound at Talladega College. We were in Washington D.C. for our end of the summer trip. There I was, staring at the White House through the tall, black metal gates. What a wonderful sight! Suddenly, three jet black vehicles pulled up behind our group. As, I turned around, I couldn’t believe my eyes! The secret service rushed out of the vehicles and made a path for President Obama to walk through to enter the White House. As soon as I saw him enter the big front doors, I jumped over the fence, and made a run for it. I immediately heard gunshots, so I started running in a zigzag path to

I remember waking up early one morning with my dad saying "lets go get the stuff in the car" Then we got the stuff in the car and we drove off to Phoenix/Mesa airport.