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Jessica Hemauer’s essay “Farm Girl” is a true and remarkable story of a young girl struggling to understand why her father has her doing chores at 5:00 a.m. Jessica thinks to herself, “A typical ten-year-old child does not have to wake up at five in the morning to do chores!” ( Hemauer, 2011, p 83 ) She has to help her older brother and sisters to feed and milk the cows. Day after day the morning ritual was the same. Taking turns using the bathroom to wash up and brush their teeth. Jessica her sisters and brother head to the cellar where their work clothes are kept. The house rules are the clothes that are worn to do chores in are to be kept there, so the smell does not permeate through the house. Heading down the stairway their nostrils are hit by a horrific odor, stinky ole cows. Nothing is said as they get dressed. After Jessica completed her chores it was time for a quick breakfast, then off to school. “When I finally arrive at school, I have already been up for four hours doing chores on the farm in the bitter cold”. (Hemauer, 2011, p 84) When the other kids were thinking of things to do after school, Jessica knew she had more chores to do. This bothered Jessica, as she felt out of place compared to the other kids at school. School was her outlet. Jessica, badly wanted to get involved in school functions. When the other girls during lunch time would talk of clubs and sports she sat quietly longing to feel like the in crowd. It was during her eighth grade year that Jessica approached her parents about playing basketball. After pleading her case, Jessica’s parents agreed. Jessica still had to take care of all her chores after practice. She agreed wholeheartedly. She made the team and became a starter. Jessica felt she was becoming part of the in crowd. She was able to participate during conversations at lunch. When Jessica started high school, she became more involved in school activities. Homecoming club, trying out for musicals, served as the student council president and even was president of her class. With all of Jessica’s accomplishments and her growth up the social ladder, she realized something very significant. Jessica was still different. She became a leader in school and didn’t crack under pressure as some of her fellow classmates; she was admired by her teachers. What was the different? Why did Jessica still stand out after all she worked for? Jessica was very mature for her age. She knew how to handle responsibility and could effectively manage her time. Jessica despised working on that farm. Some of the tasks preformed were quite unpleasant but they made Jessica what she is today. Jessica Hemauer’s academic paper was to inform the reader, how unfair she felt her childhood was compared to her peers. How she was able to use her chores, to bargain with her parents, for a chance to be involved in school activities. This allowed her to develop into a responsible person, which was more mature than her fellow classmates were. The essay pulled the reader into the story. The story started out as a sad little girl not understanding to an upbeat happy young girl and finished as a very grateful person. This is a well-written essay which I enjoyed reading. I felt as though Jessica was not only writing for her teacher but also an appreciative paper for her parents. The authors use of descriptive wording made the reader feel they were there. I felt a sense of pride in all of Jessica’s accomplishments. It was nice to know that she was able to realize that working on the farm taught her many lifelong lessons. I will be having my kids read this. I hope this will open their eyes as to why parents do what they do.

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