My Family Meeting

After being dropped off from dance late at night, I was expecting to walk into a silent house where everyone was asleep. Instead, I walked into my living room to find the rest of my family sitting on the couch with the television off, which was strange for my family. It was clear they were waiting for me to get home, so I sat down too. My mom and dad exchanged a look and a sigh then turned back towards my brother and me. They babbled absently for a few minutes, then, my mom quickly spit out the words, as if ripping off a Band-Aid, "We are moving back to Arizona." There was a brief moment of stunned silence before I burst into tears. I could not imagine why my parents would decide to separate me from my best friends six months before we were supposed to

From the ages of 8- 14, I lived in a very volatile home. Coming home from school, I never knew if it was going to be a quiet day in my house or if the entire house would be engulfed in screaming. I dreaded the weekends, that meant that everyone was going to be home. Everyone home meant that things could easily go up to flames in just a millisecond. I tried my best to never be home, I would spend the days with my friends. I knew that when I got home there was a 90% chance of everyone fighting. One day in the summer of 2012, things got too heated, and my mom finally decided to move. We packed up everything in a few hours while my stepfather was at work. We moved into my best friend’s home for a few days until we found an apartment within the school district to move into.

My story isn't quite special really, although I have lived under some unique circumstances. My mother was a single parent raising my little sister and I until she married my Stepdad in 2007. I was five at the time and had no father figure until then. From that time on he became my dad. Our new family moved twice before living in a small city where we stayed for 6 years. This is where I made close friends, achieved academic excellence, went to church regularly, life was great or so I thought. What seemed to be our perfect life was turned upside down as hard times fell upon us. I was now the oldest of five younger siblings, my mom wasn't healthy, and my dad had to struggle to keep things going.

My mom had surgery for cancer and was in the hospital for a while. My two siblings and I had only our dad to depend on for rides, dinner and obviously regular care, which is a lot for one person to take care of. Luckily, some of our very close family friends stepped up and helped with whatever we needed. This shows how when my family was going through hard times with my mom at the hospital, our extended family and friends each pitched in a little to make the time without my mom less stressful, easier and more of a learning experience. I learned that without my mom, our family might not be very organized for a while, but then we’d eventually figure it out. Because we had family and friends looking out for us, we were able to get through the few weeks without my mom at

My sister and I had to switch houses every week, and I still do that today. Obviously, my sister doesn’t do this, because she is at college. When she comes back, she still goes to see both parents. The divorce has changed both of our lives, in a positive way and a negative way. It has expanded my family. I have met so many more people because of my split family, and I have gone on a few more trips as well.

Everything is perfectly fine, everything is great, then one day it all comes crashing down and shattered pieces are left. My life would never be the same but I guess change is for the best and it forced me to become the person I am today. It’s rough to be the oldest child, especially when your mom is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and you have 3 younger sisters that look to you for comfort when their mom can’t be there. When the cancer is spread throughout your moms body doctors can’t just get rid of it no matter how badly you wish they could. Rounds of chemotherapy only slow it down, yet it’s still there a lurking monster waiting to reappear at any given moment. Nothing can even begin to describe the fear I felt, and still have to deal

Please note the worker was unable to meet with Ruddy in the month of September. The worker made 4 attempts to visit with Ruddy at his home and at the store he works. The worker went to the family's home on 9/6/2016, 9/7/2016, 9/23/2016, and 9/30/2016 unfortunately, the worker was not successful with visit with Ruddy. The worker will attempt to visit with Ruddy on 10/4/2016 at his home. Please note Ruddy name was entered on this note by error.

“Screaming, crying, perfect storm” as Taylor Swift once wrote, perfectly describes the state that my family has been for the past few years. As my mother was achieving her dream by moving to America, my dad was falling deeper and deeper into his mental complication and depression due to the sudden change of foreign culture exposure. Eventually, my parents decided to get the divorce my sister and I expected for quite some time. Considering our economic status, we could not afford the bill for two separate apartments; so heavy and unpleasant tensions between each other developed as my parents continued to live under the same roof. As time has passed, I have become more aware of the sacrifices my parents have made in order to raise my sister and

In Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, Beowulf’s courageous conquering of several vicious monsters throughout the poem inspires me to continue my journey of getting through difficult times in my own life. Beowulf, a great Geat warrior, has battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon, in which he defeated them all with prowess. Beowulf puts aside his ego and wins against these monsters by focusing on protecting the Spear-Danes from the evil forces by himself, not wanting others to get hurt in the process. He perseveres through these tough actions not out of selfish ambition, but in selflessness, saying, “'Tis no matter of yours, and man cannot do it/ But me and me only, to measure his strength with/

In my life there have been many personal challenges I've had to deal with. Many of these challenges circulate around my movement with my mother as we've been all over the United States as her job wasn't as stable five years ago as it has become recently. We lived in Iowa for four years, 1,000 miles away from my father and the house I grew up in. We became two separate households. I knew, most of all, it would be a strain on my parents, who would only get to see each other on holidays or whenever they could scrounge up enough money for the journey.

It seemed as if things were getting better, but they never really did. Finally, about five years after their marriage, my parents decided that they were sick of this life style and wanted to get away from it and all of the trouble it brings. We moved here shortly after. It was a good break from the outside influences surrounding us, but the alcohol and anger was still there. My mom started looking for a church that we can attend and finally found one that she loved. She started going Sunday's and eventually Wednesday's as well, taking us with her. She tried to get my dad to go, but he refused. Even so, things really were getting better and we started heading toward a better future for our whole family. The only obstacle was their

It was only a matter of time until my parents weren’t parents any more.As we were leaving the house all I could think about was where are we going and for what reason are we leaving the house for.Before all of this we(my brother named Kenny Curtis(KC) and myself named Kyle) were instructed to grab a bunch of clothes and get in the car.I never actually realized what was happening until we started living at my mother’s friend's house.I realized that my parents were in a divorce.It stunned me for a while, but eventually I figured out that it is ok and most people get into a divorce.

Seeing your parents apart and not getting along when they’re together is hard for most kids specially when you’re 8 years old and you don’t know what’s coming next. The day my parents got divorced changed my perception of what a normal family was.

I have spent approximately 5,735 hours sitting at a dinner table with my family. Some of those hours dragged by and some of them ran out in the blink of an eye. Many hours took place around a huge mahogany table that seemed to extend for miles, while others occurred around a tiny folding table, barely big enough to contain the food and conversations being passed above it. However, one of the things that has always stayed that same, no matter the table or the topic of discussion, was the people that sat around it. Family dinner is such a profound time of the day; a time when everyone can come together as one. Throughout all of these years and all of these dinner tables, I have come to learn that relationships are sacred.

Devastated, I ran to my room gushing my eyes out. All these emotions going through my head of how my life would be without my parents in the same room or even house. From what I remember it all started about mid-June, the weeks before that were crucial. My parents would always argue over how to deal with a situation between me and my brother, Skyler. They hardly spoke to one another, but when they did they would just start bickering. I remember, one night after dinner they both went into ''their'' room with the door locked yelling at one another. Skyler and I didn’t know what to do, so we went downstairs and tried to figure out what was going to happen. With a scared tone I asked if mom and dad were going to get a divorce?" He answered back '' No, they love each other, they wouldn’t do that to us." That following night, was a school night everything was quiet except for my crying. I couldn’t sleep; all I was thinking about how it's going to affect my family.