My Family - Original Writing

Seven years earlier, I migrated to Hawaii when I was twenty-three. I had flown away from my mother and my life in the Philippines. Like young adults and being rebellious, I wanted to live on my own away from my mother 's roof. I left the city life I grew up with in the Philippines in hope of a better life in another country.

“it’s hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember.” It all started out with my grandpa. My grandpa was a funny guy to be around. He always made you smile. He was always smiling and cheerful too. That 's what made your day by seeing his smile. His smile was a ray of sunshine. You never saw him hurt till the day he found out that something was wrong with him. Then after that day you have never seen him smile.

Charity was sewing in the kitchen, mother cooking beside her, offering my younger sister tips and clucking like a disapproving hen when Charity pricked her finger. I cleared my throat, announcing my presence.

“My lifestyle will go with me to my grave,” I thought as I took a sip of my Moscato, sitting at the bar during happy hour in Saltgrass Steak House talking on my cell phone with Akie D. “Man, I’ve been fucking up behind Ingrid’s back bro. I really don’t know what I’m going to do about my latest situation with Ingrid. I have really been acting strange lately.”

I lived in a neighborhood called Shadowbay in a small town called Willis, Texas. I lived there for twelve years, it was all I ever knew. My parents got divorced right after I was born and I lived with my mom and my two sisters. My mom was tall and skinny with tan skin, dark brown eyes and long brown hair. I felt like I never really knew her growing up though because she worked often. I was always left with my two sisters and occasionally with one of my mom’s many boyfriends. I was the youngest of my sisters. Eventually my mom found a decent man. His name was Steve and he was tall, built, bald and covered in tattoos. I would be afraid if I saw him on the street but I knew him and he was the first decent man my mom had ever brought home.

When I was younger, my mom would rent out our basement room to single people she would work with in the military. I personally loved it because it meant that there were more people around I could harass into playing with me. However, I was always confused when I would hear my grandparents berate my mother for letting “those people” into our home. I remained confused, until I asked my mother what they meant, and why they were so angry. She described to me how “old fashioned” my grandparents were and how they didn’t believe in surrounding not only the family, but me in particular, with people who identified as ‘gay’. I sat quietly for a long time before my mother asked if I felt it mattered. I responded that I truly didn’t, and carried on with my activities for the day.

I will never forget the day I walked downstairs at two in the morning. I stood in the doorway of my parent’s bedroom watching my parents crying their eyes out while yelling at my sister. "How could this happen to you? Why did you want to do this? Why did I get a call from the cops at two in the morning saying that you were thinking about killing yourself," my mom yells, fiercely shaking in fear. "I hate my life," my sister screams back at them practically swimming in her own tears. By this point, both of my brothers have awoken and are now standing alongside me witnessing this heartbreaking scene. "But why Casey," my dad softly says, trying to hold it together. My sister begins to yell again, "Because people are constantly texting me making fun of me, telling me I 'm a whore and saying that I should just kill myself because no one actually likes me." As soon as she finishes her sentence my Mom drops to the floor crying. I along with my other brother immediately start crying as well. The only thought that came to my head is why would someone as perfect as she, hate her life so much to want to end it. To better understand cyber bullying, it 's crucial to look at the causes and effects it has on teenagers.

I have been stuck in this cell for almost a year now. No one would 've guessed I’d ever be here. I grew up raised on religion, that’s all my family ever talked about; “What would the Lord want?” I loved having rules to live by and knowing that someone was watching over me. I brought religion to my own family. My wife and son, they knew how important religion was to me. It’s ironic how religion, the thing I loved so much, led me to this… jail.

I yawn and arch my back in a big stretch. I could see my breath in the air. It would be getting colder from now on. I take a look around the small hut we call home.

A nudge was administered to my shoulder as my eyes crept open. Slowly, a giant man came into my line of sight. He was a tall man with a thick beard and a toothy smile. Between the fold of his lips was a burning piece of cancer puffing out clouds of smoke. Coughing, I bolted up from the metal bed, looking at the mammoth of a man. He started to chuckle while blowing out more smoke. The room filled with laughter as I noticed the other four tattooed men around the room.

In late autumn, the wiltering sullen trees stood deathly still under the dark, gray sky, held their frail, tired limbs by their sides and reached out to receive nothing but cold harsh winds. Beneath the barely noticeable shrubs and brushes was the cold hard soil, in which red, brown , yellow, and orange leaves spread across the entire ground as far as I could see. On some trees, not a single leaf was found. They lay across on the earth too weak to get up. The car sped quickly through piles of leaves making them fly into the air.

The date was October 30, 2006, a crisp but clear night in the streets of Waiuku. Our next door neighbours were having a Halloween gathering filled with drinks, an overload of food, and deafening music. Seeing as the neighbours were also my mum’s mum and her sister, a whole heap of my extended family were there. This included my cousins Grace and Mark, their parents, a few distant family members, and some I hadn’t even met before. Even though the house was overcrowded, I had a lot of fun.

All children would do anything to have a pet, I had it, but I had to endure the heat, mosquitoes and tiredness, even so my happiness did not last long. It was early morning in my home town Guayana city. My dad was preparing the car with enthusiasm, he had a happy expression on his face. I knew why, because we were going to do his favorite activity; Go fishing. Even with 10 years old I could notice how happy everyone was at that moment.

When anyone thinks of a perfect family photo, they imagine a family with fancy clothing, a bright sunny day, green grass and faces that have been enhanced. When my family takes photos they are not quite that picture perfect family that’s advertise but a family that goes deeper than perfection.

- You sure you will be ok on your own? 3 years is a long time, if there is anything you need, don`t be afraid to call, got it?