...An experience that has changed my life is my parents divorce. They separated when I was really young and divorced a couple years after their separation. I was really devastated when my parents started arguing and not getting along as well, it reached it’s peak when I was in third grade. As I grew older though, I could see clearly that it had been for the better. In a sad, but relieving way, I’m actually glad that they are not together anymore, like fire and ice. My initial perceptions of the situation were that I could not imagine a life without my parents living under one roof. My parents separating was one of the most difficult times I experienced when I was younger. I remember I did not understand the situation, other than my my ‘mommy...
Words: 589 - Pages: 3
...Grim E Stille Feldco Scholarship How has your family contributed to who you are today? 700-1000 Words Character Sketch Life After Divorce Bridgette Nicole once said, “One of the most courageous decisions you’ll ever make is to finally let go of what is hurting your heart and soul.” As a 10-year-old kid going through a divorce, my life felt that it was crumbling. My dad and I had a very close relationship, but after my parents got a divorce, I lost a lot of time getting to see him. Life without a parent can shape a life that was unexpected. I am the best candidate for this scholarship because I have experienced a hard and unwanted event, but I have grown from it and become a better and stronger person because of my parents, which will help me power through college and become a civil lawyer. My mom and dad although divorced, have supported me through every event in my life, making me the person I am today. Living with my mom, I have learned how hard it really is to do things that my dad would have done in a heartbeat. As I grew up knowing that my dad was not coming back through the back door as I hoped, I learned how hard life really is and how life is not fair. I never believed that my mom and dad had gotten a divorce, mainly I just thought it was a nightmare. I went through stages of...
Words: 846 - Pages: 4
...aspects of an individual’s life to seemingly impersonal and remote historical forces (Conley, 2012, 5). C.Wright Mills’s theory was thought to help us connect what happens to us on a personal level to what is happening to society as a greater whole. This concept can be seen as a way to also help us realize we are not alone in our struggles and decisions. I will be using this concept and applying it to a situation that I went through almost twelve years ago, when I married my husband just two weeks after I graduated high school. Personal Explanation I come from a somewhat religious background. I was always taught that you do not live with someone of the opposite sex unless you are married, you do not have sex before marriage and that you respect your parents. All these things and more caused me to make decisions that I might otherwise not have if I had been able to be a little freer to think for myself. When I was fifteen we moved from San Antonio, TX, where I was attending a huge high school to Boerne, TX where I was thrown into what I would call a culture shock of a high school. The high school I had previously been attending had so many students that no one really knew anyone. The new high school was very small and everyone knew everyone, so walking onto campus everyone knew I was new there. This type of environment would be what would change my life. My junior year I was in classes with some upper class students and lower class students, that’s how different this high school...
Words: 1630 - Pages: 7
...Family My life changed at the age of 9. An event occurred that I already saw coming. Screaming and arguing were going the extreme. I could not take it anymore, and then all of a sudden it stopped. My parents sat me down and told me what was going on. They explained to me that they were going to get a divorce. At first I was mad but I knew why it was happening. That’s when I thought my life was going to change forever. Things were going to be different; two parents weren’t going to be in one household anymore. I couldn’t call on daddy or mommy to come when they were no where around. I would have to wait until it was their turn for me to stay with them. That was going to be hard for me not being able to see my parents together anymore but I learned that it was for the best. While I was living with my mother during the week, my older brother took on the role of being the man of the house at the age of 14. At the beginning of the divorce everything was fine, going back and fourth to my dads and moms every weekend. But as time went by things were starting to go wrong. My father wasn’t getting me and my brother on his weekends that he was supposed to. That really hurt me because I felt like he didn’t want to spend time with me. I felt hurt and neglected towards my father. Things never changed; there would be times where I wouldn’t see my dad for 3 weeks straight. And it is still like that to this day. I feel as if my brother has been the father figure in my ...
Words: 1073 - Pages: 5
...In life, things happen. Divorce just happens to be one of those things. In every marriage there are problems. No marriage is perfect. If the spouses choose not to share how they are feeling then chances of reaching a divorce at some point is very likely. I think that people do not take marriage vows serious. It seems that divorce is much easier than to work things out. “In the United States, researchers estimate that 40%–50% of all first marriages, and 60% of second marriages, will end in divorce. The most common reasons people give for their divorce are lack of commitment, too much arguing, infidelity, marrying too young, unrealistic expectations, lack of equality in the relationship, lack of preparation for marriage, and abuse,” according...
Words: 706 - Pages: 3
...Interviews On recent research about family history I learned a lot about how things have changed over time. Dating is a lot different now than it was many years ago, marriage is totally different, as well as many other things. I interviewed a few people from my family as well as people close to my family. It’s very interesting to find out how things have changed drastically since our grandparents were born. The things that we find normal today were looked down upon in the 50’s. But the most interesting thing was getting to know people on a more personal level. My interviewees consist of Louise, 65, Robert, 60, Mary, 44, Larry, 42, Michele, 24, and Edward, 21. The first group of people interviewed was a 44-year-old woman name Mary and 42-year-old Larry. Mary was born in 1970 and grew up in the 90’s. Larry was born in 1972 and also grew up in the same time period. The societies were totally different then than it is now. Getting married at a young age was unheard of in that era. The people that were married were at least 30-40 years old. Society wasn’t much different from what it is now. People were hooking up with each other back then just like they are now. Society is pretty much the same but the only thing that really changed is the technology we have now and the different social medias. Marriage for Mary was highly unlikely because she didn’t find anyone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. But for Larry he always wanted to get married one day, but just didn’t...
Words: 1615 - Pages: 7
...Half of all American children will witness the breakup of a parent’s marriage. Of these, close to half will also see the breakup of a parent’s second marriage, and forty percent of children growing up in America today are being raised without their fathers. You may not believe this but for some kids divorce has more of an impact on children than death. Parents are going through divorces when children are too young to even understand what is going on, what will these kids be thinking when they're sixteen, and they do not have a dad. Children get affected by so many things at a young age, but what people don’t understand, is that children are smarter than you think. Diane McSweeney, a marriage, family, and child counselor for the San Diego Unified...
Words: 1567 - Pages: 7
...Emma Spencer English 12 Ms Hamill October 25, 2011 I can honestly thank the acts of God for splitting my parents up because their divorce continues to shape my view of life's flaws, helps me overcome obstacles that rob my hope, and teaches me to turn my stress into strength. Life is about emotion and the way certain events make us reflect our emotion through our actions. Growing up in one family, but eventually seeing it self-destruct into two was a wake up call at the age of nine to the smell of imperfection and messy situations. I suddenly learned that life won't just hand out roses. Abandonment, confusion, displacement, and disbelief all took hold of my thoughts when i saw the look of my mother's half-empty closet. My sister, brother, mother, and I had just came home from a weekend at the beach. I ran in making my regular pit stop in my parents' bathroom and came out to stare in the same direction my mother was staring. I couldn't believe it at first, that a person who claimed to love his family so much could be gone in the blink of an eye. Leaving a young child alone with her thoughts is enough to let them self-destruct. For a while, my mother looked at me as a ticking time bomb, which is the same way i saw her. It wasn't until my Junior year in high school that I realized the truth: what doesn't kill me, can only make me stronger. This change can be proven in my transcripts. Freshman and sophomore year were not a struggle academically for me, though that is what it looks...
Words: 801 - Pages: 4
...Kayla Nowell Ms. Rebecca Biggs English 1101-N1 26 January 2014 My Beliefs on Divorce According to “Divorce in America”, about fifty percent of marriages end in divorce. After being married for fifteen years, my parents divorced. Because this happened when I was fifteen years old, it made my outlook on marriage change quite a bit. I realized marriage was not a piece of cake. I knew I would never want to get a divorce for myself and future children. Before my parents’ divorce I always thought marriage was easy. No one else in my family had gotten a divorce, so I had never been around that atmosphere. My grandparents have been married for more than forty years, and made everything look so easy. I had not been in a serious relationship before this, so I wasn’t sure how long term relationships worked. It made me believe that if I love someone enough, I should never give up on him. My parents went from seemingly being very in love, to hating each other. I decided I did not want to go through that turmoil. At the age of fifteen, I decided I would not marry someone unless I was certain that person was the one. I was determined to get married because I truly am I love with someone; no other reason. My parents got married because my mother was pregnant with me. I feel this is a very wrong reason to get married. Don’t get me wrong, they did love each other, but that wasn’t the reason they got married when they did. Because of this, even though I may get pregnant, if I don’t...
Words: 482 - Pages: 2
...me an insight into how different and sometimes similar cultures and values are. I was fourteen years old when my family relocated from Nigeria to the U.S, but at that age I was already groomed by my parents and society to act and think a certain way. This was a mindset that was ingrained in me right from a tender age. There was one acceptable way to act in public and quite a different one with family and friends. As limiting as that was, it was an acceptable lifestyle in Nigeria. Coming to the U.S. and experiencing the differences in culture was a big shock to me. It was not an easy transition. I quickly found out that some of the things frowned upon in Nigeria were acceptable in this society. Some of the fundamental cultural differences between these societies are in their outlooks on divorce, homosexuality, and the roles of women. One of the differences that struck me was how briefly marriages lasted in America because of divorce. Although many marriages are arranged in Nigeria, married couples tussle to sort issues out for better or for worse, no matter what the situation is. I, like most Nigerians, believe marriage is a form of blessing if married couples are willing to grow old together. The divorce process is fairly easy in America; however, most couples will file for divorce at the first sign of trouble. My first year as a freshman in America was devastating mainly because many of my classmates were separated from their father or mother through divorce. The ideal “traditional...
Words: 804 - Pages: 4
...the one that I have with my mother. My mother was recently divorced and I am clueless what is wrong with her. My mother use to be the type of person that could do everything for herself, financially, documents etc. Now that she has a power of attorney she acts like she is completely helpless. My sister and I have tried helping her to the best of our ability to be able to deal with the divorce that she wanted. When my father left and moved to NC he would call me every day and complain about my mother and I did not want to hear it so I would tell my dad I had to go and now my mother is doing the same about my dad and I do the same thing with her. I end the phone call. My mother and I did not talk for a year before my dad left her and it was because my mom is so negative about almost everything and I refuse to have negative people in my life, it is not healthy for me. My mom is on the verge of losing her house since the divorce. I keep telling her to get a job and she will always give me hundred reasons why she cannot. She feels my dad is still responsible for paying for the house and no matter how many times my sister and I tell her she was awarded the house and my dad is not responsible for the house, my mom just will not get it in her head that she has to get a job. Caring: My mother and I care about each other; however, right now all she cares about is herself and she does not care who she is hurting when all she does is call and complain about my father or say nasty things...
Words: 979 - Pages: 4
...Divorce Conflict Hurts Children Christina Henderson DeVry University Divorce Conflict Hurts Children Six year old Olivia stands alone in front of her bedroom window, silent tears streaming down her tiny face. She watches her father put his suitcase in his car and drive away. She does not know what divorce is, but she does know on some internal level, that her life will never be the same. Olivia is right; divorce is a watershed event in the life of a child. Life following a divorce is dramatically changed from how life was before. The purpose of this proposal is to convince divorced parents to stop engaging in hostility and conflict with their ex-wives and ex-husbands so the children do not continue to suffer more. Divorce is commonplace in today’s world; 40 to 50 percent of marriages end in divorce, annulment, or separation (Issitt, 2014, para. 8). Children of divorced parents are at a disadvantage socially, emotionally, and financially, and the effects of divorce on children are amplified by conflict between the parents. As a child of a messy divorce, I know firsthand how harmful parental conflict can be to a child; I still deal with it today, 30 years after my parents’ divorce. I will further establish credibility by including information from Pickhardt (2011), Sedacca (2014), and Whitehead (2013), who are experts on child psychology and divorce. Approximately half of all marriages in the United States now end in divorce, this issue affects millions of people in our country...
Words: 2262 - Pages: 10
...In 2013, my parents separated. You do not truly think about how different life becomes when you make the transition from two parents to one until it actually happens. This change affected me in numerous ways. When it first happened, I became extremely exclusive from my family and friends. I chose not to speak what was on my mind at the time and it showed in my personality. It took me a month or so to actually return to my normal self, and although this process was tough on all of the kids, my mom and dad continued to prosper in carrying out their roles in our lives. Even though the divorce was hard to completely understand at first, and it left me with a plethora of questions, it also helped me grow and develop as a man. When you have two parents...
Words: 279 - Pages: 2
...a marriage begins, traditionally it has to happen between man and woman. But with same sex marriages being more socially accepted civil unions are being recognized and carry the same benefits as a married couple. Marriage is the most important step any person will take in life. The most important objective in someone’s marriage should not be financial success but should be the building of a life together with someone you are physically and emotionally married to. Marriage is a covenant and should not be viewed as a contract which can be thrown away and a new one written. Today social media plays a very big but also negative role in the way one choses their spouses. They do not chose someone who is perfect for someone but focus too much on one’s wealth and social status. Families today have more titles but the root to a family is still the same it has always been. Families today either traditional, Binuclear or stepfamily they still carry the same function and framework. Families are in both a financial and emotional commitment to care and support for one another. My family is quite large and the doors were always open to anyone in our extended family. If anyone needs help then they came to family that is how I was brought up that family was to always look after one another. However this is not always the case with extended family as everyone is spread out and they no longer...
Words: 850 - Pages: 4
...uncommon in the 21st century. My parents separated. While this isn’t the worst thing in the world that could have happened, it felt extraordinarily close to an eight year old girl. My two brothers being much younger at the time didn’t seem to understand why their mother suddenly started living with our grandmother again. They certainly didn't understand what had caused this to happen. Me being young and naive, I blamed myself. The self-deprecation only grew once I noticed that my mother had stopped saying much of anything to anyone, and my father had stopped eating. For my whole life, I had wished on stars for trivial things such as money or...
Words: 632 - Pages: 3
