The Family I Approve of Now

At the young age of eighteen, I wanted freedom from my family and my life, so I decided to move and explore the southern U.S. The further I got from my family the more depressed my life became and the more I realized I wanted to be home. I experienced life in a way that I never expected I would, and became close friends with people who I felt were my family back then. Being gone for only 6 months changed my life and drastically changed my maturity level.

            The day I left was the most thrilling incident I’ve had so far in my life. I remember being extremely sad to see my mother cry, but I knew she would be O.K in a week or two, so I hugged and kissed her and said, “I love you” and she left. The next day I boarded my plane to Texas and didn’t arrive till late that night. I stayed up for a good twenty-four hours just sitting and waiting with no phone, no food, no movement. It was the most scared and vulnerable I have ever been. A week passed and I finally had access to a phone, and immediately I called home. My mother’s voice answered and instantly tears flowed from my eyes uncontrollably, and I could barely speak through my sobbing which was making it a hard conversation.

            Weeks passed and the next thing I knew, I was gone from home for almost 4 months. I grew to be attached to my roommates and others in my squadron. We were all so close to each other because we had no interaction with our real families and so we became our own family. None of us had anything in common, in fact, we hated each other most of the time, but the only thing that kept us together was the one thing that was keeping us there.

            I couldn’t stand being there though because I realized my family was really important to me and I took them for granted, so all I wanted to do was to get back to them. I decided to leave and it took almost a month for everything to be processed and finalized, it was definitely the longest month I can ever remember. The time came for me to board another plane from Mississippi to California. I surprised my family with my homecoming and I can still remember my mom crying in disbelief that I was truly home. Ever since then I have been close with my parents and my brothers. I love them very much and will never take them for granted again.