Personal Narrative: Summer And Night

All of my past summers have always followed the same path, but this year summer took a different path. This summer was more about surviving than having fun. They have always been about spending time with friends, sleeping, and just relaxing. When you are a kid that is what summer is all about, but as you get older it changes. This summer I had to juggle more than just friends and fun. I had to juggle work, practice, training, and just trying to hang with my friends.

Who am I? What makes me unique? What makes me special? As simple as these questions are, why are they so impossible to answer? Am I the star pitcher on the varsity baseball team? Or am I valedictorian at a prestigious school where competition levels are at an all time high? Or am I the high school dropout who couldn’t care less where I end up? I am none of these things. I am myself. I am me. My anthology is me.

Sandy beaches, movie stars, golf courses, warm weather and mansions. These are just a few of the things that come to mind when someone thinks about the state of California. Popular culture has taken the 2nd largest state in the lower 48 of the US and made it into sort of an otherworldly land, a place where nothing can go wrong, a place where the sun shines high in the sky each and every day and a place where Mercedes - Maybachs seen driving their morning commute is not an abnormal sight. Our trip had some of these amazing traits, but some things about it were very, very different.

There was a young girl named Summer, and a young boy named Kyle located in Atlanta, Georgia. Kyle was a handsome brown skin country boy right out of Mississippi. He dressed well, had fantastic grades and had a nappy boy fade. Summer was a brown skin suburban girl. She dressed to the nine, was an A-B student, and always smelled like strawberries and mangos, and her hair was always different. Kyle was so in love with Summer before Summer even knew he existed. One day, Summer was introduced to Kyle by her younger cousin and automatically caught feelings, but she didn't show it of course. They started off slow. They facetimed every single night for hours. After long nights of laughing, flirting, and falling asleep on the phone the two lovebirds

All I had ever wanted to be when I grew up was a mom. My husband and I tried for years to have children but alas it wasn't in God's plan for us. So we needed a new plan. We looked into foster care.

With summer almost over, I can't help but look back on the past few months. Mid-May I was completely blindfolded, I dived into the summer months without any goals or any idea of what it would bring.

A perfect fall day would take place on a cool, Saturday evening in October. Preparations would start early in the afternoon with a visit to the store. Like a kid in a candy store, I would go through the Kroger aisles buying popcorn, s’mores supplies, and hot chocolate. I would carefully check that each white, fluffy marshmallow was not squashed and I would buy whip cream to top off each mug of rich, creamy hot chocolate. Final stop would be the big, shiny Redbox kiosk for a movie. My kids say I take forever picking a movie!

Sitting at the dinner table, I shoved a bite of steak in my mouth. Forks and knives scraped at the table, breaking the silence in the air. I grabbed the cold cup that held my drink and glared at my dad. Sitting there, all quietly, as if he had done nothing wrong. He had gone from being the man who would race down stairs when dinner was ready so he could spend time with his family, to the man who was cooped up in his office.

There is an unseen balance in the universe, one not measurable with charts and graphs or even with the highest tech machines man has to offer. This unseen balance guides my life like a tiny white flame, showing the way through the infinite maze that is life.

Fall is a great time. There are a lot of things to do. It isn’t ever to hot or cold. Thanksgiving is full of excitement. Black Friday/Thursday is also in fall. There is Cornhusker football, harvest, and facts on corn.

June 20th was the first day of summer and the longest day of the year, and as we all know it can be hectic, happy, hearty, and HOT! We outdoor types know we will encounter the best and the worst during the high-summer months, but we also know we can reach niches inaccessible any other time of year. We see vistas that are only available for a matter of weeks, we enjoy camping out and enjoying the long days and warm nights, but we also know that we may experience crowded camp grounds, trampled trails and trashed lake shores. We California Explorer readers are always aware of our environment, the responsibilities that go with it, and that makes us a welcome visitor.

One bitter cold night, Elvin was driving the two of us to a football game in Dallas, Texas. That night, I ended up doing something impossible. It was tragic, but It made me feel empowered.

There I was, going as fast as I can. I am invincible was the thought going through my ten year old brain. After church, my family and I were heading to my grandparents house. Every Sunday, all of my mom's family goes over to my grandparents to have ice cream and talk; however, this time we were having dinner with the whole family because my it was the start of the summer. I couldn't wait to see my cousins. I was all over the car. “Sit still!” said my aggravated mother.

After watching endless episodes of “The Middle”, a TV show my brother, mom and I had been watching, I slumped up the stairs feeling tiredness overcome my body and brain as most sleep deprived teenagers do. I stumbled into my room feeling for the light switch in the dark and flipped it. On my almost robotic bedtime routine I slowly and grudgingly brushed my teeth and slipped on my pajamas. I pulled back the sheets and sunk into the soft plush comforter. My cat was sleeping on the end by my feet. “Macky, come here I called”

Hi everyone, I will be talking about what I did this summer. This could take a while because to tell you I been on heck of a journey. Well with that being said let me remember want I was doing when school was let out!