Jasmine Osuna
PAS 113 B
Feburary 22, 2012
Professor Broadous
What Would You Do?
The crowd is up on their feet cheering and screaming.
There’s ten seconds left on the clock and the score is 72 to 74, Fairfax down
by two. Everyone is anxiously waiting to see who makes the next move. Fairfax
takes out the ball and the point guard quickly calls out a play. It’s crunch
time and they struggle to find an open man. Two seconds left on the clock,
Emiliano barely gets open and shoots for the three. The crowd goes wild and
everyone jumps on their feet with excitement, Fairfax wins by one with a score
of 75 to 74. Emiliano has once again managed to save the team. Around school
he’s known for being the biggest jock. Not only is he a star in basketball, but
in football as well. He’s always been the one that all the girls want to be
with, the one that all the guys want to be like, and the one that everyone
knows. Emiliano has this presence that is very charming. He’s athletic, six
foot one, is light skinned, has an athletic body, very short hair, and is very
attractive. Although he’s a jock, the star athlete of the football and
basketball team, he doesn’t fall into the stereotypes of a jock. People love
his personality, he’s outgoing, respectful, friendly, trustworthy, upfront,
smart, and he’s that friend that you can always count on. Everything seems so
picture perfect on the outside, but no one really knows what his life is like
on the inside.
My father is a very wealthy man. I grew up in a nice
neighborhood, big house, and had the latest technology, but all those fancy
things don’t define my life. The exterior is the complete opposite from the
interior. I guess you can say we’ve developed pretty great acting skills because
to everyone we’re that perfect family, but behind closed doors we’re everything
but a family. Both my parents are alcoholics and can never seem to get along
with each other. Every night I fall asleep to the sound yelling and screaming,
my father beating my mom, and the sound of her crying. I hate being at home,
it’s not a home. It’s not safe for any of us, especially for my little brother
and sister. Isaiah and Alina are too young to understand what’s going on, but no
child should witness what is seen in this house. Dishes flying across the room,
people punching walls, breaking mirrors, it’s a war zone. My father and I don’t
get along, we barely even talk. I know my mom loves us but she’s too scared to
show affection. We were never taught or
shown how to love but when a child is born they’re not taught to love it’s just
something they do. I love my parents regardless I just wish they loved us
enough to love each other. Things never get better, they worsen everyday so
that’s why I push myself to be the best that I can be so one day I can be in my
father’s shoes and be the man that he couldn’t be.
Senior year has come to an end and graduation is finally
here. I’m faced with very important decisions that will affect my future. I was
offered two scholarships, one for Oregon State to play football, and one for
USC to play basketball. They’re both my passions and are both great schools so
I know which ever path I decide to take I’ll be going down the right road. All
this excitement has me hyped. It’s finally the big day when I end one chapter of
my life and start a new one. I’m dressed in my cap and gown lined up with all
my classmates. We start to walk and I can hear the crowd cheering as we make
our way into the auditorium. I look up into the crowd and see nothing but
cameras flashing, then, I realize my father is nowhere to be found. It brought
my excitement down but I’m used to it, after always looking up into the crowd
and not seeing any of my family members supporting me. On the bright side I’m
glad my mom, little brother and sister were able to make it. I tried to avoid
it and not let it get to me, but I felt so angry. I never expected anything
from him, but I can’t believe he would miss this. It’s like if I don’t have a
father anymore, I hate him! He’s never been there for me and has never
supported me in anything that I do. He never fails to ruin such an amazing day.
All my excitement is always shut down by him. From my birthdays, to Christmas,
to Thanksgiving dinners, he always ruins them. I don’t ever want to speak to
him again. All this frustration made me forget of how excited I should be for
myself. I took a deep breath and enjoyed what was left of graduation. The
principal gives her last speech, we move our tassels from right to left, and
she announces the new graduating class of 2011. I have now left all my high
school days behind and am moving forward. Normally all the graduates go out to
dinner and celebrate the big day with their families and friends, as for me I
come home to horrible news.
My mom receives a phone call from the police informing
her that my dad has gotten into a horrible accident and had to be rushed to the
hospital. On our way there my mom wouldn’t stop crying. All she kept saying was
“It’s all my fault! It’s all my fault!” Nothing I did would calm her down and
all I could do was stay strong for her, my little brother and sister. We got to
the hospital and we were told we couldn’t see him. Doctors and nurses kept
coming in and out of his room. We patiently waited outside for the doctor to
call us in. I wanted to know what was going on, I just wanted to know that he
was going to be ok. Dr. Stewart approached us and asked to speak to my mom
privately. What was the big secret, I wanted to know. As the doctor was telling
my mom the details, she dropped to her knees pouring out tears. I ran to her
and held her in my arms so tight. Never have I seen my mom that way. The doctor
then explained to me what happen. My heart drop and I felt sick to my stomach. My
dad had been drinking earlier that and was speeding on the freeway. He hit a
car to his right that was entering the freeway. The car he hit flew to the side
of the freeway and his car flipped three times to the front. The car was
completely demolished. My mom kept blaming herself for what happened; she
always blamed herself for my father being unhappy. She said they had been
arguing early that morning because he came home late the night before. Things
got out of hand and my mom walked out of the house. He pulled her and pushed
her back in and told her to stay, that he was leaving not her. Every time my
parents argued my dad would leave and end up in a bar or at a friend’s house
and drank to take his mind off things.
We went in to see my dad. He was hooked up to multiple
machines, had needles all over his body, had a neck brace on, and his head was
wrapped. He was in a coma and had a thirty percent chance to live. I felt like
my mom, I blamed myself for the accident. What if this happened because all the
terrible things I said? Or because I said I never wanted to speak to him again?
I didn’t know what to feel or think. I didn’t know whether to regret everything
I said or to be happy because all the abuse was over. But I loved my dad enough
to want him to be alive, but hated him for causing so much pain to me and my
family. What if it really was my mom’s fault for always fighting with him? If
she would have never said anything about the night before would he still be
alive? So many things ran through my head. I never wanted anything this extreme
to happen.
The detective walked into the room and asked to speak to
us outside. He asked my mom a few questions about my dad and his history. I had
walked off to the side to comfort Isaiah and Alina when I heard him mention
balloons inside the car. He had also found flowers and a brand new gold chain
with a number two charm on it. “Was it someone’s birthday?” he asked. Before my
mom could answer I said “No, no it wasn’t, it was my graduation.” I wanted to
break down and cry. How could I have said all those horrible things about my
father, I have always doubted him but why did I have to doubt him today? He
wasn’t as cold hearted as I thought he was. He really did care; he just had a
bad way of showing it. I have always wanted that chain, and he got it for me,
but I never wanted it to be the last memory I had from him. His lungs gave out
and his body shut down, my dad was now a free soul. As much as my parents hated
each other, it hurt my mom to see him go the way he did. She regretted
everything, but this was a lesson for all of us to never take the ones we love
granted because you never know when they’ll be gone.
As heart breaking as it was I had no choice but to give
up both my scholarships and enroll in a community college. I was forced to find
a job to support the family. We had to move into a small apartment because my
mom never worked and my income wasn’t enough to pay for a huge house. I worked
fulltime and attended school fulltime and the pressure to be the man of the house
was ridiculous. It wasn’t only about keeping a roof over our heads and fixing a
hot plate for dinner every night, I also had to take care of Isaiah and Alina
and set a good example for them. I tried my hardest to protect them and keep
them from getting hurt when dad was around and my hard work seemed to pay off,
however now it was mom who I had to
protect them from. Nothing was ever easy growing up, and like I said before
things never got better they always worsened. This is just the beginning.
