My Life

I still remember that day. The day when I realized that I was no longer a little girl. It was a cold and wintery day, and my eighteenth birthday. I was now capable of going to clubs with my own I.D., and receiving a speeding ticket without my parents ever now. I was now a teenage adult. That day I realized that no longer would coloring in a coloring book is appropriate, or that playing with baby dolls is okay. My childhood had charitable moments of going on vacations, playing with the neighborhood kids, and being carefree.

As a child, my family would always take vacations to Myrtle Beach during the summer. My brothers, Spenser and Miguel and myself would pile up in the van and stretch out in the backseats for the twelve hour car ride as my parents would switch out driving. Once arriving to our hotel we would always go and walk the beach or to the boardwalk where all the festivities took place. Over the next couple of days we would play on the beach with our boogie boards, make sandcastles, and would meet new friends along the way. One the days that we were not at the beach, we would go shopping at the outlets for back to school clothes. After a day of shopping, we would go out to eat at huge buffet that had any kind of seafood, meat, vegetables, and my favorite, hush puppies. As we would slowly walk away from the table feeling bloated and unable to move, everyone would pick out a souvenir to take home at the gift shop. On the last day we would leave the car at the hotel and walk down to the boardwalk and watch the fireworks, but also a way to lose all the weight that we had gained. Heading back to the hotel we would take the beach and walk close to shore just to barely get our feet wet, but also as a way of saying goodbye and hello to the year to come for my parents. Being homesick and wanting to return, I would always be the first person in the van, screaming for everyone to hurry up. Finally we would make it home, where it felt good to be back in my own room along with my toys. The next day we would show all the neighborhood kids what we brought back, and they would tell us what all transpired as we were gone. While we were all playing, once we heard the noise of the ice cream truck we knew we had no more than five minutes to get to our house for money and back in order to get what we wanted. After finishing our ice cream everyone went back home to get their bikes and we would ride around or go to the Metro Parks. As the sun was beginning set we would slowly make our way back to our houses, because as a child you knew that it was in your best interest to be home by the time street lights were on. For the next couple of weeks we rode, played, and hung out until it was time for school to start. Once school started summer was over and we always waited for the next year.

As a child I always waited for the day that I was finally able to do certain task independently, but now I look back and wonder why. Childhood was the time that