My Father : A Short Story

“Dad, can I go over to Ambers’ house to study tomorrow?” Our daughter Catherine asked the question, from about halfway up the stairs. Only her face could be seen as she peered at my husband hopefully, over the banister. I looked over at my husband, knowing what he would say, before he spoke. “Ask your mom.” My husband said to her, while glancing at me, expectantly. I smiled at him, knowing why he was telling her to ask me. He had worked all week, making the long drive from our home in Ashland to his office in Richmond and was hoping I would drive her to her friend’s house, so he could relax at home. My daughters’ hopeful gaze turned toward me, as well. “Madre?” She didn’t bother repeating the question. I hid the little sting of pain, that I always felt when she called me that, behind a smile. “What time are you supposed to be there, and do I need to bring you over and pick you up as well?” She nodded as she answered me. “Yeah, her mom can’t do it today, but I told her I would help her with her math.” Catherine had always made high marks in her school studies; it was something I was exceedingly proud of. “Yes, I’ll drive you, but make sure your phone is fully charged.” I have always been protective of the kids, and it was a long standing rule that they didn’t leave the house without a way to contact me. “I will.” She called out as she went the rest of the way up the stairs, disappearing from my view.

My mother was struggling to pay bills and I put that before my grades, clubs, and overall happiness. She is a single mother of two children and I feel as if it is my obligation to help her, as she has done for my brother and I for our entire lives. I spent much of my time going to work instead of participating in the clubs that I would have liked and focusing more on my classwork. Since it is my senior year, my mother supported me with my decision to take the time off from work and focus more on my grades. It is never too late for improvement, although I do realize how much my true potential is not accurately depicted in my transcripts. Because of this, I have vowed to myself and to my family to become more involved in clubs, dedicate time to studying and becoming successful in college, as I wasn’t able to in high

Even though I gained admission to all the colleges I applied to after high school, my parents were not able to raise enough money to cover for my school expenses. I stayed home for some time trying to help my parents raise enough money for school. I’m the first generation student in my family and coming from a family living under low income and struggle to put food on the table, we knew the only way to come out of this situation is through college education and that is what I'm committed to do.

Entering into college, I wanted to do public health, but I wanted to be a doctor to please my father and to satisfy his hunger to have a doctor in his family. My father made sure his children went to college, and if they didn’t, it was clear they couldn’t stay in his house anymore. My parents struggled to support all of my siblings and supply each of us with everything we needed. I never realized the struggle until I got older and understood the value of money and time. My parents never wanted my brothers and I to work while we were in school, they wanted us to focus on our grades and activities that would help us get into college. Overall, the support from my family and seeing how hard my

So far I have learned that college is like getting slapped in the face with a big fat “No.” I no longer have the flexibility to attend social events, study, and work in a timely fashion. Between juggling these aspects, my life has been extremely stressful. In an attempt to lower my stress, I kept a journal for the past two weeks; it consisted of my stressors, and how I coped with them. Throughout this journaling process, I have come to the realization that money and my mother are the most agitating stressors in my life. In an attempt to overcome my mother’s financial expectations and obtain financial stability, I have come to the realization that I cannot always impress my mother and should no longer stress myself out trying to do so. Instead of allowing money to be a distraction, I should focus on bettering myself academically, mentally and spiritually.

But there was more that me and my family had never considered nor had known how to tackle that, as of late, has become a serious issue for our family: financial aid. My family and I have had to take out large loans to fund my education as a result of our lack of knowledge of how to look for and complete scholarship and grant applications. Effectively “missing the boat”, I have been trying to actively seek out resources to help me overcome something that has become admittedly embarrassing for myself, not knowing how to even approach an application process; this even extends further from scholarships and grants to job and internship application as their importance grows as

I spent endless days and nights thinking about my future. What was I going to do? Where was I going to go? How was I going to do it? I didn’t know why I was stressing about it since I knew that I really didn’t have to make any permanent decisions until the end of Junior year. I guess the fact that I am a first born in the United States has always influenced me to try and surpass my peers when it came to academics. My goal in life was to make sure I would live the ‘American Dream’, but what I wasn’t aware of was that I was already living that dream thanks to my parents. As I’ve said in this article, I wouldn’t even be here writing this article if it wasn’t for them. I would’ve not had the infinite amount of perseverance, courage, and bravery to be writing this article. At some point in every teenager’s life, including mine, there’s that moment where you just want your parents to leave you alone. Trust me, I’ve been there, but in the end, your parents are always going to be there for you. This year for me involves many college visits and tours, stressing about AP classes, extracurriculars, and finding that one college (but let’s be real here, more like a list of ten), that is perfect for me before applying next fall. I know for a fact that every step of the way there my parents will be with me leading all the way to when I receive my diploma, to dropping me off at my dream

Working long and laborious, only getting one day a week off, I didn’t give college a second thought. Yet, I still grew tired and bored of the work. Which lead to calling in sick to work, and working less just to hang out with the wrong crowd of people. Then reality kicked in, again. Realizing that I was a naïve brat who did not think that anyone else truly mattered, and getting into serious trouble with my parents (and ultimately with myself), I knew I needed to surround myself with positive support and influence. After months of going to see councilors and talking to friends I had an epiphany: I was wrong. Finally, I understood my parents, they were right all along and had only wanted what was best for me. At last I was able to look through a mature lens: my parents did everything that they could to teach me but I didn’t want to listen. I was just self-serving, everyone and everything matters and the world does not revolve around just one

1. I packed only casual clothes for my trip. A pair of jeans, two T-shirts, and a sweater.

Throughout my life, I’ve moved approximately twelve times, been to seven different schools, and for most of my life, lived with a single parent. The usual story for many. There came a point though where I thought I knew for a fact I wouldn’t be able to go to college at all. That was the point where I devoted my time to my classes and extracurricular activities, such as being in the Peru Amateur Circus and Tiger Leadership.

I am a first generation college student and while I have always wanted to attend college, I haven’t continuously received support from my family. Both my parents grew up in families with tight economical situations with my fathers being exceptionally limited. Therefore they both were never able to attend higher education. My father has never truly seen the value of an education and at first didn’t believe that I should attend college at all, partly due to the cost. On the other hand my mother desperately wants me to attend college but is also worried about the cost. In the fall of my junior year I began taking college credit plus classes at Ohio State University, Newark and Central Ohio Technical College in order to cut down on college cost and get a head start on my education. I choose to take matters into my own hands and pick a path to my future. As a result I was finally able to convince my father that despite his beliefs, college is the right choice for me.

When he releases his hold and gets up off the bed, I cough. "Thought you said I couldn't fool you with that." I grate out with a smile. His smile relents a little, but then he just stares at me. His eyes rake all over my body and back up to my heavily exposed cleavage that this dress gives me. My skin crawls and I attempt to change the subject.

When I was young my mother and my father both had very different opinions on how you should raise a child. And since my father was the one paying the bills and bringing home the paychecks for a few years, I didn’t really get to see him much because he worked all day. So my mother was the one who raised me for the most part. At the time she would spoil me like crazy. If I asked for something the answer would always be yes, and if I didn’t get my way I would start having a fit until she finally caved in. You could’ve called me a crybaby, go ahead I would’ve said the same thing. Because I was. My father’s best friend who had two twins both the same age as me invited me, my father and my mother over to there place for an easter egg hunt easter morning. During the easter egg hunt, me and my friend both turned a corner at the same time. He saw an egg and as he was going to grab it, I saw it and tried to get it also. He got there before me and I started to have a fit right there and then. I could remember my mother rushing up to see what’s wrong. After I told her what had happened she got me to stop crying and gave me extra candy. My dad knew that by her raising me like this I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere in life without someone being there whenever something went wrong, so he told her to take the candy back and to tell me to get over it and that not everything in life will be fair. She took that the wrong way and got mad at my dad for “not being a good parent” because didn’t

Where I have come from goes back generations for me, where I am from is based off of what my family has gone through and how they have used their experience to teach me. Through my family I now understand that where I come from means the way my parents raised me and why. One very important figure in my life who makes me who I am is my dad. My dad has been through a lot of good and bad times in his life, he has many experiences some in which I hope to recreate for myself and others I would only hope I would never have to go through. Talking to has given me specific experiences that when I look back at have really changed me and prove to me where I am from. Another person who has given me experiences that have helped me learn where I am from

My Father is one of the most influenceable person in my life. It’s not till recently that I have realized just how much my father has influenced my life decisions. Like every young boy my father was always a hero to me. I’m going to try to show why he has had such an impact on me and tell you his story.