English 101 - Life Changer

Briana Rhodes

English 101

Life Changer

It was a nice winter day in February. There was no snow on the ground but it was brisk outside. My mother had called me and asked for me to stop by her office. The night before, my mother and I had a very heated conversation that lead to us telling each other that we hated each other and couldn't live together in the same house. I couldn't take seeing her every day. I expressed to her that she drove me insane and that I was tired of fighting with her every day. I was tired of her telling me what to do especially when I really did nothing wrong. I told her that I was moving out and that she no longer had to worry about me and I would finally be out of her life.

When I arrived, I opened the door and what I saw was not what I expected. My dad was home from work early in his dirty clothes and muddy boots, standing next to my mom's front desk along with my mom with papers in front of them. They both looked very upset. The first thing my dad did was hug me and tell me that he loved me very much and that he was sorry for everything and what was about to happen. I was confused at the moment. I didn't know what to say or do so all I did was hug him back and tell him that it was ok and that I loved him too. All my mom did was stand there and look at me like I was worthless.

After standing there for about five minutes, which seemed like an eternity, in silence my mom finally told me she wanted me to sign these papers. I asked what they were and all she told me that they were court documents releasing me of their custody. I believed her and thought I could trust what she was telling me because she was my mom. So she showed me where I had to sign. So I signed the papers like she wanted me to and in the corner of my eye I saw my dad tearing up for some reason. I stopped signing the papers and looked at him and told him I was still going to be around and that I was only going to be ten minutes away we could go to dinner whenever he wanted. He smiled and replied, "We will see what happens." I went back to signing the final papers and my mom stopped me. She asked me what my plans were since I wanted to be on my own. I told her that I was going to get a job and save money to get a car, but until then my friend was just going to take me to work. I was going to continue to go to school and do what I normally did on a normal daily basis. After I told her what my plans were she gave me the last paper for me to sign.

Once I signed the last of the papers, I felt relief. I felt like a million pounds was lifted off my chest and I had the feeling of freedom. I was happy but at the same time I felt bad for my dad. How could I have let this happen to him? I could tell this was killing him inside. I asked if my dad could take me home so I could finish packing my belongings. My plan was to be out of the house by the time my mom got home so there wouldn't be any more conflicts. That's when hell froze over. My mom told me to come into her office away from the public ears so she and my dad could talk to me. I agreed to go with then because I really had no choice to if I wanted to leave.

When I sat down, my mom first said that her and my dad truly did love me and that she didn't want our relationship to end this way. Unfortunately it had to come down to this because they didn't know what else to do. They proceed to explain to me that the papers that I just signed were for them not to have custody over me but for my aunt to take custody over me. My aunt lives in Georgia! That's seven hundred miles away from Indiana. I didn't know what to say or do. The first time in my life I was speechless. All my emotions just started to pour out. I was mad and sad mostly. I was mad because what parent would do that to their child? I was sad because Indiana is where my life was. This is where all my friends and family were. Indiana was the only place I wanted to be for my junior year of high school. Everything was going right for me in my life except home. I didn't want anything to change for me. I was happy with where I was and what I had.

All I could say, "Why did you do this to me?" I thought they had no reason to do this to me. In my head I had done nothing