I come from a very dysfunctional family; I am the older of the two children that were produced by my parents. I have a younger sister named Nicole Marie Stover. We are the result of my father’s third marriage, the only offspring he is aware of. He has been married seven times to date, the latest one has been the longest lasting, their twentieth anniversary was a few days ago. He made it quite clear when he came in one morning with Carol, my now step-mother of twenty years, that he was going to make this one work no matter what it took. Well this included striking me out of the picture as I was a troubled young lad. But let’s go back to the beginning of my life, the beginning of this story. I was born Sunday November 09 of the year 1980 to George Adam Stover, III and Dawn Marie Stover (Adams) in the wonderful town of Baltimore that’s located in the state of Maryland at Saint Josephs Hospital. My father was a feature photographer for WMAR Channel 2, where I spent a good portion of my time at playing on the editing room floor and…
I remember the night my dad left like it was yesterday, and I don’t think I will ever forget. I don’t remember what exactly it was that made him so mad but I’m sure my sister and I were fighting like sisters do. My only really vivid memory of that night was my dad hitting me so hard he left bruise marks on my backside. I could hear my mom and dad fighting so I knew my mom saved me again. Then my dad got really mad at her and he grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her into the pantry door so hard that both my mom and the pantry door came crashing to the floor. When I got up for school the next morning my dad was gone. Some children aren’t as lucky though and Child Protective Services has to remove them from a bad situation.…
It's Thursday, the day of the Farmers Market in Swansea, Il. This market takes place every Thursday at the Rural King parking lot, during the summer months of April thru October.My grandfather Norm started this event about 4 year ago, with just around 3 vendors. Now the business booming, with approximately 15 vendors participating ,vendors now range from wooden sculptures, to jewelry, and even Shea butter to help eliminate dry skin. Norm was born and raised in Belleville, il where he and his wife Deloris raised four children Mary ,Mike, Tom ,Barb. When Norm was young he attended Belleville west high school, where upon he found his first job working in Sears sales department. Later into his career he found an interest in auctioneering, and created his own family business, called "Geolat auction". After 30 years of being an auctioneer, he retired and began his real passion in agriculture. At his house in Belleville Norm owns around 3 acres of land that he uses to grow peppers,tomatoes,beets,turnip,and even square watermelon. Norm was…
For me I would say that my dad is not supportive to me. My mom and my dad they divorced and then my mom married another person which is the one I live with now. I feel really good with my stepdad, and my mom is happy. My biological dad to me, it just the memories from the past that I hate. I would like to forget about the past memories and it would be easy for me to become a different person. He is the one that I will not ask any help and any supports…
When my step father committed suicide, it was the most shocking yet influential experience of my life. The whole situation expanded my understanding of mortality, spirituality, and of just how fragile happiness is. I can still remember the day that it happened; It was unlike any other day. I was in school when brother picked me up after lunch. We met up with my mother, and brother at my grandmother's house. The entire atmosphere was off. No one was acting like themselves. Immediately I knew something was wrong, even if their expressions and body language were not obvious enough. After sitting in the living room for what seemed like an eternity, I went into the next room where I found my mother who was crying, and when I asked what was wrong…
"Are you ready? We leave in 20 minutes", says Maurice, my stepmom. She's been with our family for 7 years, ever since my mom and dad had a divorce. When I was 13 my dad told me that financial complications was the reason why they split, but somehow I feel like it was me. I felt like I was the root of all the complications, although I have a sister named Dianne who's a year older, who is another person to put the blame on, but still, I think…
It was June 14, 1858, and we were on our way to Mr.Lincoln’s house. My Dad happened to be one of Mr.Lincoln’s colleagues;therefore, he was always helping him compose his speeches. We weren’t too far from his house so we just took our horse and small wagon.…
The night I found out about my dad, I couldn’t understand why this was happening to me. At first, all I could think of were moments that he wouldn’t be able to witness. From seeing me graduate college to walking me down the aisle, it felt like I was being hit with a tsunami as I realized that soon, I would have to walk the path of life without my dad. How was it fair that I would have my dad ripped from my life after only 15, 16, or 17 years? I spent so much time feeling bad for myself that I didn’t see just how lucky I really was. While there are people in this world who have never known their parents, I’ve been blessed to know my father for 15 years. Despite the fact that many people in this world take their parents for granted,…
"Can you guys come in the dining room for a minute?" As my face turns reddish and my stomach feelings like it is turning inside out, my stomach has never felt the way it felt that day? On just a day like no other I could not even believe that this had happened. That just a few words could have such a strong meaning, these words felt as if the world had been crashing all at once. This had felt like a nightmare, it stills feels like one to till this day, and I just have not woken up from it. I tell myself every day "everything happens for a reason" but I just can never seem to understand even after four years later what that reason was for. Why did this have to happen? I was only twelve years old, and when your parents tell you that they will no longer be able to be together it is the hardest thing to take in and think about.…
" Hey kids we need to talk about something," mom says. My brother, and I look at each other strangely. Ethan asked "what do you need to talk to us about mom?" Divorce the legal dissolution of a marriage. This is what happened to my parents in August of 2009 they got divorced. It was a very big challenge for me to face. At first it was just a separation which happened in 2007 then slowly turned into a divorce. I was young so I did not understand a lot of it.…
I don’t blame myself for what happened to my parents. I may not be the most buoyant about it, but who would be? Going through your high school years without complete parental support can end horribly in more ways than one. High school is the time when you need your parents the most; you are growing up, maturing, and starting your life. It can be hard to know where to start if you can’t even recognize where your parents have gotten in their lives.…
1555 West Warehouse Drive, was where my dad had moved to, which was his metal fabrication shop. He built a second story and created an apartment out of it, but it was not a home. I had got into the routine of going to stay the night at my dad's on tuesdays and fridays. I must say that I became exceptional at packing an overnight bag. There was this woman Jane who shared my dads shop, she would hold her art classes there. I really enjoyed being around Jane. She had amazing talent and was always complementing me on my art when it was horrible. My father sat me down one day and I found out that she was my soon to be step mom. After this information was given me I wanted to ask questions. The questions were only directed to my counselor, and of course she would never have the answers I was looking for. I decided that I wasn’t going to mention the divorce to my mom because that would just make her cry. I eventually decided to just live with what I knew and went on living the most normal life I could. Throughout the years I had gotten use to the idea of Jane always being around.…
The disappearance of my dad changed everything. It all started with a phone call. The message, echoing in my ear like a gunshot, was clear: my dad will move to China without us. At the time my father did not tell me the exact reason for his departure, but I read recently in a magazine that he was escaping from a group of lobbying businessmen, or more specifically, a group of gangsters. He was gone for a year, and, my seemingly perfect life was completely destroyed. At least I thought that was the case just after my dad left us.The group of men who took my dad away from my family was not only after my dad, but they were also after my family. For safety issue, my entire family was forced out from the tranquil life that we used to have. The change in my life was so big that I thought I would never live through this transition.…
In college life, my parents divorced, and the divorce strained me both mentally and financially. It was the biggest challenge of my life. My father felt that education is not worth it. In other words, my parents were financially strained since my childhood, and I have one sister. My parents could pay for only one of us to be in school. My mother pays our tuition by herself. Without my small business, I would not have joined high school or college. I promised myself to continue with education to make the life of my family better. I also wanted to prove that education is worth. The motivation was my mother’s hope, my professor’s lecture, our college library, and my dream. I thought that my sister felt that excessively. Academically, my GPA was…
The challenges that I have faced from my mother’s illness and my parent’s divorce can be seen as open opportunities to me. They have taught me the value of being adaptable, being responsible and accepting of the struggles I've faced and am still facing today. I had to adapt to the many different situations, because I became responsible for a lot around me. At Southern Oregon University, I can share my struggles with others. The different variety of people that there is at SOU, will let me contribute my diversity, and we would make it bigger. Life is always changing and when we share it with others, we become unified and know we are different from others. Also, my heritage of being a Hispanic/Latino makes me different from others because I…