humanity
Humanity begins at home.
My Rock and My Hold
It's a long story, but means the world to me. From a young age she became the town's famous young mother. Big brother's wife they called her. In our language they called her "fofo sron". That was her joy. To be the iconic lover in her home town was a dream come true. She was full of passion, joy and kindness. She had dream and she was dedicated to it. When she sits down to tell the story, she shed tears or sadness and joy. This is a good story. She said " I was everyone's little helper and I was very happy to do their errands. Fast forward, I never knew that thing things would change so quickly". She continues telling us children her childhood story. "I have three bothers and two sisters. We are a family of eight in total including my mother and father. As we the children were living our young lives, we never thought about what tomorrow was going to be like or how we were even going to get food. Our father and mother provided for us and all we have to do as kids is carry the products home and help mum cook." Joy as she calls it continued for her and the family until one day without realising, everything collapsed. the joy she once knew has fallen and in a instance the family's life became hard and crazy. Suddenly the little girl found herself occupied by survival instinct 24/7 for the life of her family. fofo sron was no longer a name of joy for her.
By Lamourette Folly6 years ago in Families
A girl in a different world.
I was a girl feeling that I was in a different world because everyone I went to school with had a mother and I had a father that I loved but wondering where is mine? I would open my eyes and there she was late night visits and smelled like alcohol, none the less I knew I had a mom. My character was more like my dads fun but yet serious in a way but loved the magical and fun things a girl can do but had no one to do them with I was highly creative and 80s style was my style. My mom did love me she just couldn’t get out her pain and it ruined and tore her apart. I got older and after my dad passed when I was 18 I finally got to hang with my my mom still hard to say mom I called her by her name and she would get mad but I was not used to it! She was such a giver regardless of her life decisions. And after she passed I was angry that I never had a chance to be a kid with a mom a real mom you can ask girly things to but I became a rebel till my dad passed and when she passed I was still feeling empty because my friends would tease me with thier mom. But she was so caring and fun to be around at times when she’s not poring her emotions out or blaming others. I realized. ok dad and mom are gone. I was giving like my mom people took advantage of the pain an took till I had no more to give I said no I’m not ending up like my mom putting myself last made her days get lesser by the day till she was gone I stopped it all I started saying no to what didn’t serve me I started changing and seeing good things are meant for me too, I couldn’t burden myself in not having a mom to do cute things with or get advice. So I was getting closer to being like my mom and didn’t want to point fingers of why I went so low when I did deserve better even though I had nothing else to live for there had to be a reason I was here, yes I didn’t have what others had but I learned to appreciate the little I did have allowing me to feel others pain and be giving to the ones that are in pain like me and not do it because someone is forcing me to give because they think I’m less but I’m not and said thank you mom I learned from you in heaven that I need to care about me because no one will but myself and if I started to love myself enough I would not end up dead young, because people didn’t care how much you gave they took it and left you dry. So she showed me to not give your all when you haven’t given yourself enough!
By Bella Maureen6 years ago in Families
Seeking Sanctuary
It's cold. Standing here on this cold, wet night while the bitter raindrops penetrate my skin, I stare at this home. From the outside looking in, it looks nice and warm. Something you would see in a magazine with the window lit up with candles, pictured against this cold frame of the night. How could something that looks so warm and welcoming be so broken?
By Megan Ashlee Niemiec6 years ago in Families
WHY YOU SHOULD MOVE OUT OF YOUR HOMETOWN
My wife and I are planning on moving from Boise to Chicago in the next year. Boise/Meridian is my hometown. I’ve moved away in the past for 1-2 year stints. I had a pretty positive experience growing up in a suburban small town, and being here is being in the height of my comfort zone. The place where you grew up is familiar. You have points of reference to go off of. This makes a person operate in a type of auto-pilot mode. In addition, having the constant input of family members who have certain expectations of you can cloud a persons sense of self. I want to be able to respond to situations outside the context of my hometown familiarity and familial input. Being in a new environment forces you to think in new ways. It’s part of survival. If you don’t have a history somewhere, you are able to discover who you are in an entirely new way. Participating in new activities, is going into uncharted territory. Uncharted territory allows for little to no past data for your brain to input and predict what will happen in the future. This can allow you to more easily stay present and sharp.
By Allaina Bradshaw6 years ago in Families
The Untold Truth.
Homesickness set it. Why did I have to be away from familiarity? From my friends? I was hating every moment of this so-called "adventure," as my dad put it. Being only 10 years old, I never realized until that moment just how much we take advantage of the most simple things in life. Just to have a bowl of cereal, I first needed to mix the powdered milk and bottled water. What a chore! Needless to say, that was the one and only time I had cereal or milk for that matter. It was gross!
By Kat Herbert6 years ago in Families
The House That Built Me
As I write these words, I’m sitting in a living room, that holds the memories of every person I have ever loved. It was eight years ago that my mother became sick and my partner, Bryan, and I decided we needed to move in with her to help out. She still had her snappy wits about her but her legs and lungs weren’t doing so well and I didn’t want her to be alone out here in the country. It turned out to be a great move in many ways but one of the most meaningful to me was the way that Bryan and mom bonded. It was really something special to watch as they sat discussing everything imaginable for hours on end. Bryan told me that right from the start, he felt as though he had known my mom his entire life. He told me what an incredible person she was and how he had never met anyone like her. It was all really wonderful to hear and it made me smile because I knew he meant every word. Ever since my divorce more than a decade earlier, mom had been concerned about me being alone and I could feel the relief in her once she met Bryan.
By Lawson Patterson6 years ago in Families
Top of the World
I woke up to the earthy, woody smell of our bahay-kubo—a small house made out of bamboo and nipa leaves. My back feels sore from lying flat on the cold, hard bamboo floor, but I have never felt better in ages. I heard a quiet tap, like a stone falling on a wooden floor at a short distance, followed by a voice saying, “check, your turn.” I knitted my brow then looked up. There’s a person sitting in front of me; it was my grandfather. How did I just wake up lying down and now sitting up playing chess with my grandfather? I hear a song playing on my grandfather’s old stereo, a stereo so old it only plays cassette tapes, but the sound was so muffled I could barely hear the song. Although the sound was barely audible, my thoughts were already telling me what the song is. It was my grandfather’s favorite song, “Top of the World” by the Carpenters.
By Jerianne Delos Reyes6 years ago in Families
