I am a college student at the University of Nevada, Reno, currently studying my two passions at the same time: medicine and English. I am having an internal battle with myself over which I love more, I will be stuck doing one for the rest of my life. I have done several internships at hospitals, so it is time for me to test drive my writing skills. I work AND live with my best friend so there is never a time I am not by her side. Family has always been very important to me, whether it be the one I was born into or the one I have made so far in my life. Family is who we go to when we have nowhere else to turn. They help us grow and cheer us on as we figure out who we are and what we were put here to do. It is my belief that family is the very core of who we are.
Growing up has been an interesting experience to say the least. My family heritage is Irish and German, so basically the whitest you could possibly get. I tan well though, so I feel like I have been cheated out of the true Irish experience. I can hold my liquor as well, so I guess it is not all that bad. My mom is actually the epitome of an Irish woman; red hair, fair-skin, anger issues, truly the whole package. She is actually a real fantastic lady; I honestly have no clue how she put up with me for so long.
She was 18 years old when I came into the world, my father was not much older than her, a mere 22 years on this planet before I popped out. They were fairly young, and only 18 months later my younger sister was born. To say they there were not prepared is an understatement. They were babies themselves and now they had to raise two more. While they were young, they did a hell of a job raising my sister and I, we are some pretty good kids (not to toot my own horn).
The other day my dad called me up and asked me to come over because there was something, they needed to discuss with me. Now do not get me wrong, I love going over to see my parents but there are two things that happen when I am asked to come over: I get yelled at for something stupid I forgot I did, or it is something super serious that has me leaving in a weird head space.
So, I get to my parents’ house and when I walk in there’s pink and blue balloons and colorful confetti everywhere and hanging above the dining room table there is a giant banner that reads, “NOT PREGNANT!” The dining room was set up like a gender reveal party but instead of finding out the gender of the kid I found out that my mother was indeed not pregnant. I was not even aware it was an issue still. Most kids my age parents worry about grandkids.
There are some benefits to having younger parents, now that I have matured, they are slowly becoming friends as well as parents. We are a very tight knit family; we tell each other secrets that kids with older parents would never dream of spilling. My father is like a high school buddy of mine, and we have met up at the lockers to talk before class. It is obvious my mom lays down the law and he is there to encourage my sister and I to break it to watch us get in trouble with our mother.
I will never forget when I told my parents I went to my first college party, my mom automatically went into protective parent mode, asking me if I was safe and how I got home that night. As soon as she was satisfied that I had been safe she walked away and my dad walked up to me, and in a very hushed tone asked if I had drunk while there, and when I told him yes, he went really quiet but got this grin and said, “dude nice,” and he gave me a crisp high-five and walked away.
At the end of the day, my parents have left me prepared for the world, I know they will always be there for me. I can also say with pride that my parents have graduated from “adults” to adults. I can only hope to be as an amazing parent as they were.
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