Curse Of Being First Essay
The Curse of Being First
As a child Thursday nights were my favorite. My nana, my family, and our uncle’s family gathered for our traditional dinner, consisting of undercooked pasta and old ‘Jeopardy’ reruns. Our family would sit on the floor draped in blankets, huddle around the small TV in the living room, and surround ourselves with space heaters. While the adults spent the evening passively watching and talking, us kids pretended to be contestants on Jeopardy; shouting out wrong answers (as if we knew what we were talking about). Growing up, I recognized three things: (1) My ability to answer “Jeopardy” questions before anyone else in the family quickly went from being cute to annoying. (2) I was always in a rush to get ahead. (3) My intelligence was something my family was immensely proud of, but something that limited me. From a young age I have been the first child in my family with ambition to succeed, and the last with the ability to do so. I come from 3 generations of veterans and jack-of-all-trades who believe that a college education is a waste of time. My father graduated high school and joined …show more content…
My parents wanted their children to have individual experiences, uninfluenced or affected by their other kin; which meant I wouldn’t be be able to progress as swiftly as I’d hoped. The first instance I can remember of the curse impeding my life’s progression was in second grade. When presented with the opportunity for their child to skip a grade, most parents would seize the chance and jump for joy. Even though my parents were proud of me and wanted to facilitate my advancement in life, they didn’t want my success to affect that of my sisters’. The curse followed me throughout childhood and into high school. I couldn’t take classes early, I couldn’t attend proms or events early, and I couldn’t graduate with the Class of
As a child Thursday nights were my favorite. My nana, my family, and our uncle’s family gathered for our traditional dinner, consisting of undercooked pasta and old ‘Jeopardy’ reruns. Our family would sit on the floor draped in blankets, huddle around the small TV in the living room, and surround ourselves with space heaters. While the adults spent the evening passively watching and talking, us kids pretended to be contestants on Jeopardy; shouting out wrong answers (as if we knew what we were talking about). Growing up, I recognized three things: (1) My ability to answer “Jeopardy” questions before anyone else in the family quickly went from being cute to annoying. (2) I was always in a rush to get ahead. (3) My intelligence was something my family was immensely proud of, but something that limited me. From a young age I have been the first child in my family with ambition to succeed, and the last with the ability to do so. I come from 3 generations of veterans and jack-of-all-trades who believe that a college education is a waste of time. My father graduated high school and joined …show more content…
My parents wanted their children to have individual experiences, uninfluenced or affected by their other kin; which meant I wouldn’t be be able to progress as swiftly as I’d hoped. The first instance I can remember of the curse impeding my life’s progression was in second grade. When presented with the opportunity for their child to skip a grade, most parents would seize the chance and jump for joy. Even though my parents were proud of me and wanted to facilitate my advancement in life, they didn’t want my success to affect that of my sisters’. The curse followed me throughout childhood and into high school. I couldn’t take classes early, I couldn’t attend proms or events early, and I couldn’t graduate with the Class of