Locked Down

This is another essay from my class. It is a narrative about the beginning of a turning point in my life; it's part of my testimony. 

       “Is he your boyfriend?” my dad asked. My heart sunk to my toes and I got a squeamish feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked at my feet, embarrassed and annoyed that I had made the mistake of not deleting a message from my secret boyfriend.

“Yes,” I mumbled, my face expressionless. Lying would only make it worse. I knew the rule of no dating and had blatantly disobeyed. The bigger issue would be that while all this was going on, I had pretended to be honoring the rules that I was breaking all along.

“How long?”

“Since November.”

“So, two months? Have you kissed him?”

I nodded, blushing at hearing those words from my dad. 

“Wow, and you acted like he was just a friend all along. You talked like it was just a crush. You played your mom and me, huh?”

I cringed at his words and could not answer. My mind raced as I tried to figure out the right thing to say while also trying to figure out just how angry my parents were.

“You don’t even seem to feel bad about it.”

“I don’t,” I replied matter-of-factly. I knew it was false. I felt guilty and I felt terrible for lying and sneaking around behind my parent’s back, but I did not want them to know that.

“Wow,” my dad said again.

Mom was crying at this point and dad was angry. After having me quit my job, drop out of the play I was in, my dad said, “You are now on lock down, which basically means you are on an intense grounding. Your mother and I cannot trust you, therefore you will stay in our sight at all times and are on our schedule now.”

I could feel new tears pooling in my eyes. This what not how I wanted things.

He continued, “If you want to run away-” 

“I’m so sorry I lied!” I cried, breaking down. “I don’t want to run away. I don’t want to leave you!”

“How long did you think you could hide this?” Asked my dad, quizzically.

“Longer than this,” I sobbed.

“Nothing stays in the dark forever, Andrea.” His hand was on my back now as the three of us sat on the sofa. “Everything comes out eventually. Everything is eventually brought to the light and then you have to face the consequences.”

I did not realize the truth of my dad’s statement that January night until later on in my “lock down.” It lasted for almost eight months. I spent the first few days in my room with only a bible, a journal, and a pen. Initially I was mad at my parents and bitter about my current situation, but soon I realized that the feeling of having my secrets revealed and out in the open was beautiful and freeing. I had begun the process of healing and rebuilding of my relationship with Christ and with my family. In the future I would point to my lock down as the one of the best things that ever happened to me.  

Christmas Day - A Descriptive Essay

I wrote this as a descriptive essay for my English Composition class. I hope you enjoy it!

I was awake before the sun and there was no trace of heaviness on my eyelids. Christmas morning had always come early for us kids. Anticipation having roused me from my slumber, I woke my cousin Kylie who lay beside me. We slipped on our socks and tiptoed across the cool concrete that was our Grandparent’s basement floor. Little cousins, brothers and sisters dozed at our feet, but after a few missteps were soon following us up the stairs.

The adults were still in bed, so we fidgeted on the thick carpet in the glow of the ornamented tree. Gifts glistened under its light and we craned our necks to see which ones had our names on them. The fireplace warmed us as we chatted aimlessly, awaiting the sound of parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents making their way down to the living room. 

 After what felt like hours, parents finally sat with hot coffee in their hands and sleep still in their eyes. The kids sat on the floor at Grandpa’s feet, and in an accent developed from a life in Southern Missouri and many a John Wayne movie, Grandpa read the Christmas story from Luke, as was tradition. The airy sound of Kenny G’s saxophone played “Silent Night” in the background as my dad prayed in a groggy voice and thanked God for the gift of Jesus Christ. I could feel the excited tension from Kylie beside me as the prayer came to a close.

“Amen” was the trigger word. For the next hour all that was heard was the high pitched voices of little kids as they groped for parcels with their names on them. Squeals bounced off the walls and green, red, and white paper littered the floor. Bows were placed affectionately on babies heads and ribbons were worn as necklaces. After every gift was opened and the last cry of delight rang in our ears, we waited patiently for our parents to open the boxes of dolls, toy cars, action figures, and tea party sets that would absorb the rest of our time.

The sun had finally risen when we sat down to breakfast casserole and chocolate milk. Scarfing down our meal, we fled the scene to avoid dish duty and played endlessly with our new toys.  Our uncles and parents enjoyed Christmas dinner the best. Honey ham and mashed potatoes with veggies and rolls accompanied the lively conversations and left us all feeling full to the brim and exhausted. Christmas afternoon was a time for snuggling on Grandpa’s lap with my stuffed animal of choice under my arm as we watched Christmas movies.

The feeling of dread was overwhelming as the magical day drew to an end. Leftovers were our dinner, and soon it was bedtime for us all. The toys would be packed into our suitcases and the alarms set for early morning so that we could get a head start on the way back home. Though the day was over, we all hugged each other knowing we would see each other again next year. 
The smells that wafted from the kitchen throughout the day, the light from the tree, sitting at Grandpa and Grandma’s feet, and the Christmas music playing in the background all make up the memory that is Christmas at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. Because after all, it was the place to be on Christmas Day!

 -Andrea