"Oh my gosh! Absolutely brilliant! Fantastic goal! Rooney scores another one for Manchester United!"
Stronger
A sudden sharp, ear-splitting sound began to fill the empty house. My fingers frantically searched for the "off" button of the stereo. Before long, I understood the CD was not for any kind of musical pleasure. It was for my father to train himself to pain. Stunned, I placed the CD where I first found it, inside my father's coat pocket, where I, as a fourteen-year old, could always look for some coins.
My father heard a ringing noise in his ears, what the doctors called "tinnitus." It came as an unexpected side effect of a nose surgery he received seven years ago for his frequent sneezing. However, my initial worries about his condition gradually faded away, as he never expressed his pain in front of the family. At the same time, I grew distant to my "indifferent" father; he always came back late from work, missed the dinner with the family, and left early for work in the morning. It was only much later I realized he was trying to compensate for the time and money he lost in fighting his depression from the ringing noise.
Through his soundless struggle, my father taught me the value of inner strength that eventually guided my transition to a foreign country. My poor English listening skills and understanding of the American culture in the first few months of high school in America, were constant weights on my shoulders. But I knew everything would turn out better if I believed so. And what I believed came true; I met the most wonderful people by mustering up the courage to approach friends and teachers first.
When I was little, my father used to tell me stories from Aesop's fables. This one line from a story still vividly comes back to me: "The little Reed, bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over." Even though I will be away from home in the near future, like the little Reed, like my father, I will remember to be strong inside, despite the obstacles I may face.
I would love criticism!! :)
Stronger
A sudden sharp, ear-splitting sound began to fill the empty house. My fingers frantically searched for the "off" button of the stereo. Before long, I understood the CD was not for any kind of musical pleasure. It was for my father to train himself to pain. Stunned, I placed the CD where I first found it, inside my father's coat pocket, where I, as a fourteen-year old, could always look for some coins.
My father heard a ringing noise in his ears, what the doctors called "tinnitus." It came as an unexpected side effect of a nose surgery he received seven years ago for his frequent sneezing. However, my initial worries about his condition gradually faded away, as he never expressed his pain in front of the family. At the same time, I grew distant to my "indifferent" father; he always came back late from work, missed the dinner with the family, and left early for work in the morning. It was only much later I realized he was trying to compensate for the time and money he lost in fighting his depression from the ringing noise.
Through his soundless struggle, my father taught me the value of inner strength that eventually guided my transition to a foreign country. My poor English listening skills and understanding of the American culture in the first few months of high school in America, were constant weights on my shoulders. But I knew everything would turn out better if I believed so. And what I believed came true; I met the most wonderful people by mustering up the courage to approach friends and teachers first.
When I was little, my father used to tell me stories from Aesop's fables. This one line from a story still vividly comes back to me: "The little Reed, bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over." Even though I will be away from home in the near future, like the little Reed, like my father, I will remember to be strong inside, despite the obstacles I may face.
I would love criticism!! :)
