Hey fellas. I would appreciate any feedback on this essay. Critiques, thoughts, ideas are all welcome. Thanks!
Describe the world you come from -- for example, your family, community or school -- and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
My parents had always been like the Sun - the center of my life around which my thoughts and actions revolved around. Providing me with light, guidance, and warmth, they watched over me and kept me anchored in their gravitational sphere, making certain that I never went astray or awry. This was the security I had grown under, and this parental supervision was something I had taken for granted; like the Sun or the other stars in the sky, I always expected my parents to be there, unchanging and static.
But regardless of how long they live and how accustomed we grow to their presence, all stars must die. Sometimes it is the long drawn out process until only a neutron star remains, while other times it is with the force of a fiery supernova explosion; my parents' divorce was a bit of both. But regardless of how stars end, their demise means the end of order for the celestial bodies orbiting it. I was dropped into a world of chaos I had never known before, a previously unimaginable place of family clashes between parents in which I was stuck in the middle. Like a planet lost in space, unsure of its proper place, I was constantly in limbo between falling under the orbit of my mother or that of my father. The unanswerable question of which parent to live with became an everyday struggle as I wrestled with the idea of living with only one parent and alienating the other.
But as I look back, I am glad for this struggle, for it taught me much. The world didn't end as I expected it to and I managed to escape the confusion of disorder and to even find my own rightful spot in the universe. The absence of my parents led to new, stronger, and more meaningful relationships with people that helped to fill the gap my parents left. This disorder also taught me to take the unexpected twists and turns of life as they come, and I now have the confidence in knowing that I can endure whatever else life has in store for me.
But most importantly, I learned to rely on myself. All parents must leave their children's lives eventually, and mine simply exited in a messier fashion. I still love both my parents dearly, and I never did choose one parents to live with, deciding instead to hold them both equally close to me. But my astronomical position is not somewhere in transition between them. I have since discovered that if my parents were the star I relied upon in the past, I am now my own star. My decisions and belief about who I am no longer revolve around my parents, but around myself, thanks to the self-awareness I've gained from this struggle.
Describe the world you come from -- for example, your family, community or school -- and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
My parents had always been like the Sun - the center of my life around which my thoughts and actions revolved around. Providing me with light, guidance, and warmth, they watched over me and kept me anchored in their gravitational sphere, making certain that I never went astray or awry. This was the security I had grown under, and this parental supervision was something I had taken for granted; like the Sun or the other stars in the sky, I always expected my parents to be there, unchanging and static.
But regardless of how long they live and how accustomed we grow to their presence, all stars must die. Sometimes it is the long drawn out process until only a neutron star remains, while other times it is with the force of a fiery supernova explosion; my parents' divorce was a bit of both. But regardless of how stars end, their demise means the end of order for the celestial bodies orbiting it. I was dropped into a world of chaos I had never known before, a previously unimaginable place of family clashes between parents in which I was stuck in the middle. Like a planet lost in space, unsure of its proper place, I was constantly in limbo between falling under the orbit of my mother or that of my father. The unanswerable question of which parent to live with became an everyday struggle as I wrestled with the idea of living with only one parent and alienating the other.
But as I look back, I am glad for this struggle, for it taught me much. The world didn't end as I expected it to and I managed to escape the confusion of disorder and to even find my own rightful spot in the universe. The absence of my parents led to new, stronger, and more meaningful relationships with people that helped to fill the gap my parents left. This disorder also taught me to take the unexpected twists and turns of life as they come, and I now have the confidence in knowing that I can endure whatever else life has in store for me.
But most importantly, I learned to rely on myself. All parents must leave their children's lives eventually, and mine simply exited in a messier fashion. I still love both my parents dearly, and I never did choose one parents to live with, deciding instead to hold them both equally close to me. But my astronomical position is not somewhere in transition between them. I have since discovered that if my parents were the star I relied upon in the past, I am now my own star. My decisions and belief about who I am no longer revolve around my parents, but around myself, thanks to the self-awareness I've gained from this struggle.