Children always depend on their parents. No matter how young or old; a mother and father are deeply needed in their child’s life. Unfortunately, some children don’t have their parents to depend on due to death, jail time, or something of that sort. So it is a pity when a parent is with their child and the child can’t depend on them.
That’s where I come in. When I was little, my parents were my rock, and they were well fitted in my life as they should’ve been. Nevertheless, when school started, my sibling started having depression problems. Though he was only a few years older than me, my mother was concerned that a 7th grade child was having depression problems. By this time my parents were only focused on my brother, and I didn’t mind because I was very scared for him. As my brother’s condition got worse, so did my parent’s tolerance for me. My older sister didn’t mind not getting attention; she got a job to help out with the medical and therapist bills.
At home, I was invisible. My mom stopped cooking for me, and she often ignored me if I tried to carry on a conversation with her. My dad stopped helping me with my homework, and it was almost like I barely saw him. Later on my parents got a divorce, and my dad left home.
I soon started spending time by myself and finished school work alone. It felt to me that my mom was wrapped around my brother’s finger. Everything he wanted my mom ran to go get, whether it was candy, soda or an outfit. Plus I was never allowed to go, and they never brought me anything back. So by this point, I got jealous. My jealousy got worse the more my mom catered to my brother. Since it was illegal to leave a 3rd grade child home alone, my mom started dropping me off at my grandfather’s house. She said it was to get me out of the house to do something other than watch TV, but I think it was just to get me out of the house, period.
My grandpa worked all the time and, when he got home, I’d always ask him for help with different things or tell him that I needed his help with something. He always got upset at all the messes I’d make while he was gone. He’d always say “It’s not good to depend on everyone else, because when everyone else is dead and gone, what are you going to do then….sit helpless.” On his off-days, he taught me how to do things on my own. I learned how to clean things properly. He taught me how to cook. Now, I wasn’t allowed to cook things like spaghetti, lasagna, or hamburger helper, but he let me make things from scratch like biscuits, cookies, and ice cream. I also learned how to do the laundry. My grandfather always did things for himself, and he thought that there was no reason to depend on someone else for something that you could do on your own.
My learning environment was what I would call my ideal learning environment. The house was always quiet, and I, personally, learn by repeatedly hearing things, so I could remember them. I also learned, because my grandfather would let me be hands on with everything. I was always by myself, so I could practice on an everyday basis. Plus the house wasn’t crowded, so I could concentrate on getting everything right. Most of the house was painted a really soft green, and I always felt calmed and relaxed. I also never had a time limit, so I never felt under pressure. I hope that you find your ideal environment to learn in and that you, too, learn to depend on yourself.