A Mother's Keeper

A Mother's Keeper

“I’ll be ok mami” Those were the words that started my college journey here at the University of Florida. Standing there saying goodbye to my mother before she departed to Miami seemed surreal to me. 

Ever since I could remember I had been my mother’s keeper. 

 At that last hug my whole life flashed before my eyes. It’s funny how some people say that, that happens right before they die but for me it happened right before I was about to start living.

I went back to my small home located Miami, Fl. I went back to the happy times. I traveled back to a time where my parents were very good at concealing the truth about their marriage. As a child I knew I was less fortunate, than most of my peers in school in an economic aspect.

 However, that did not bother me much because I felt more than fortunate to have a family. I admired my parents, the morals they instilled in me and I treasured every smile, laugh and moment of joy. I was so blinded by bliss. I would’ve taken to offense if anyone would have told me that my parents seemed distant. I figured since they loved me and my older sister they must love each other. I remember smiling when I remembered my mother teaching me how to cook and my father buying me a new pair of skates. Every bruise, burn and scratch was always well taken care of.

Those brief memories of happiness ended just as soon as they began. It was at the age of nine when I went from enjoying my childhood to embracing adulthood.

 I remembered the first time my sister and I heard my parents arguing. My father told us to go to our room. It wasn’t long before I realized why he had done this. Just as the plates shattered against the floor so did my world. There was shouting that was preceded by silence and the slamming of the door.  There was no need for someone to tell me what had occurred. I had seen the play by play in my head. 

I had been fighting the urge to cry while I was in my room.  My older sister looked like she was going to cry, but before she could burst into tears I hugged her tightly. I told her it was going to be ok and to wait in the room. I gathered the courage to head to the kitchen and console my sobbing mother. It was at that moment that I faced reality.

Divorce is the worst thing that can happen to a family. The constant bickering, the never-ending custody hearings and child support court dates can really drive someone crazy.  I remembered being my mother’s lawyer, doctor, translator and best friend. I went with her everywhere and anywhere that she needed to go. 

All the qualities that I admired about my mother were slowly fading away. Her strength, energy, smile and laughter were ceasing little by little. 

The only motivation she had were me and my sister. Our accomplishments in school always brought back those qualities. Hence, my sister and I always made sure to achieve academic excellence.

During the weekends my mom had us go to my father’s house. My sister was always happy to see my father, I, on the other hand never wanted to leave my mother’s side. I would go to the park across the street and spend the entire day there.  

I disliked being at my father’s home so I asked to help out at the horse stable that was owned by the park. I was thirteen when I got my first job and it was at the horse stable. 

I would wake up every Saturday and Sunday at 6 am to head over to the park. I would take the horses on their morning exercise and ride around without a care in the world. I would clean them and their stables. During the afternoons their owners would come to ride them and I would take their children on rides as well. From tips alone I would make about $150 dollars every weekend. Ever since then I’ve always had a job to help my mother financially and to pay for my own expenses.

The happiest and saddest moment of my life came the day I found out that I was accepted into the University of Florida.  I worked very hard during high school to get into the school of my first choice. However, I knew accepting my invitation to attend meant that I would have to leave my mother. Although, my mom was saddened by my moving she was more than ecstatic to help me prepare for my big move.

 It all happened very quickly. Before I knew it my mother was dropping me off at dorm. There I stood hugging her goodbye, trying to be strong for her, as I’ve always been. This time my strength failed me. This was the first time I allowed her to see to see me cry. Many people would say that my upbringing prepared me to live on my own and though they may be right it was going to take a while to adjust to this new environment without my best friend. Looking back on that day I would have to conclude that moving to Gainesville was the best decision for my future.  I’ve grown as a person, a student and a daughter. My mother has also come a long way. She is about to open her own business and is the happiest I’ve ever seen her. The distance has helped us grow as individuals all the while strengthening our relationship. 

My mother will always be my best friend. 

Analysis

I chose to write this narrative because first and foremost it is very dear to my heart. It shows how I was raised and a series of events that has made me the person I am today. I chose to title it “A mother’s keeper” in hopes that the reader’s first question would be “what is a mother’s keeper?”   That question is answered through the narrative with the images. I hope that from the narrative with the images the reader can conclude that a mother’s keeper is her daughter.  A mother’s keeper is a daughter who is there for her during hard times, sad time and happy times. A mother’s keeper is a daughter who understands that no more matter what her best friend is her mother. I chose to put the pictures in a different order so that the reader could make their own narrative about the images. Looking at just the pictures I would think that a writer is possibly trying to make a comparison and contrast between Miami and Gainesville. The first picture is also the last picture in the narrative because it signifies that the relationship I have with my mother is never-ending. The song I chose sets the tone for the story.The song does a great job in describing what is happening in the narrative. I feel that it prepares the reader for a heartwarming story.  

Blog Assignment 3

“Geez, I hope nobody got hurt. You’re very quiet. You’re mad I missed the play aren’t you? I have two jobs baby; you know how important they are for us. I’d give anything to have been there”

*HER The enigma in this scene begins with the start of the flare by a police officer. You begin to wonder what happened, who has gotten hurt and why there is a traffic jam. However, as the scene continues we realize that the focus is not on the accident but rather on Cole and his mother. What is at question in this scene is Cole’s quiet nature. Whether he’s really upset with his mother?  And why does he seem so pensive?

“I’m ready to communicate with you now…tell you my secrets.”

 The promise of an answer begins to develop when Cole tells his mother that he is ready to communicate with her. He tells her that he is ready to share his secrets which not only captures the attention of the mother but also the attention of the audience. When Cole begins to tell his mother that someone got hurt in the accident the mother begins to question his ability to look past the cars not realizing that this was the first part of his revelation. Cole begins to tell his mother that the woman who got hurt is next to his window. When this is said the camera shows the viewers the dead woman next to Cole’s window however, only Cole and the audience can see this woman not his mother. This is an indication of equivocation in the scene in the sense that what is proven as truth to the viewers still seems false to his mother. However, Cole stating that he can see the woman who died only serves as the partial answer to Cole’s earlier pensive state. When Cole begins to talk about the woman that got hurt he mentions that the woman is standing next to his window, which begins to scare his mother. When his mother states that she is beginning to get scared Cole states “they scare me too sometimes” when his mother asks who they are there is a small suspension of silence with the camera getting close and focusing in more on Cole’s face. Cole then reveals that he can see ghosts; that the ghosts have been the ones that hurt him and ask him to do things for them.

“She said you came to the place where they buried her and asked her a question. She said the answer is every day. What did you ask?”

At first Cole’s mother is hesitant to believe that her son can see and talk to ghosts. Disclosure begins to take place when Cole begins to speak about his grandmother.  Lynn asks him to stop but Cole continues with the story about how his grandmother saw his mother dance to prove that he can see ghosts. Cole also mentions to his mother that “everyday” is the answer to the question his mother asked his grandmother at her burial place. Once Lynn realizes that this is not some made up story she reaches out to hug her son. **ACT The lighting of the flare sets up the atmosphere of this scene. The flare serves as an indicator that something bad has happened. The man speaking to the officer stating that he is ok and that he did not know what happened tells the audience that an accident has occurred hence the traffic jam that Lynn and Cole are in. The camera in this scene then begins to walk the audience through the traffic jam. You can see that smoke is coming from the car and that the roads seem to be wet making it possible to believe that it had been raining earlier. From this the audience can derive that it was not a typical bumper to bumper car accident. ***SYM  As with any narrative, many times rain, thunder or a storm will be used to indicate that something bad is about to happen. Although there was no rain in this scene, the roads were wet and it was very cloudy. The fact that the roads were wet indicates to me that it had been raining, which is possibly when the accident happened. The wet roads may be used as a confirmation that someone did get hurt. What confirmed this even more are the sirens you hear in the background and the lighting of the flare which typically symbolizes that a death has occurred. The unbelief for the supernatural can serve as cultural symbol. Lynn was a bit hesitant to accept the truth about her son until she was presented with proof. Very much like today many people have the mentality that they will not believe something until you can convince them with proof that what you are saying is the truth. The bumble pendant and the dance recital were symbolic towards revealing the truth. The hug that Lynn and Cole shared at the end symbolizes the need for support from family. A hug tells someone that they are not alone. 

Assignment 2

http://www.samedaymarriage.com/marriage/marriage_license.htm

The image is of a couple on what seems to be their wedding day. The balance of the picture takes place with the lighting of the picture as well as the attire of the couple. The bright background light with the white tuxedo as well as the white dress gives off a sense of happiness. This also gives off a sense of purity and peace. These are two very strong feelings that the photographer wanted to make the viewers feel. This image is projecting marriage as a pure, peaceful and loving act. However the most unconventional detail about this picture is that the groom is wearing a white tuxedo as opposed to the usual black tuxedo. Typically people focus more on the bride when attending a wedding, with the groom dressed in white one cannot help but to focus their attention on the groom as well. This gives off the feeling that not only is it the bride’s happiest day but also the grooms. Typically more focus is given to a bride’s beauty but in this picture the focus is on how the couple makes each other feel. Most wedding pictures also have the couple smiling and staring at the camera.  However, in this picture the couple is facing each other with both their eyes closed which to me states that their focus is on each other and not what is around them. 

The first image that was posted made me think of marriage being this lifelong commitment that everyone should consider. However with the altered image my perception of marriage changes. A simple text such as “A Happy ever after?” really makes one think what it is they are signing up for. It actually made me question how long this particular couple was going to last. It also made me question whether marriage really is a happy ever after and whether this feeling of love, peace and tranquility really does last longer in pictures then in person. The scariest part of this picture is the percentage of failed marriages. In an article published by Gary Becker on Human Capital it is stated that forty percent of marriages are already on their first divorce. This data alarmed me. Marriage is not what it used to be in past generations. It is not taken as seriously and that is why I chose  to question how serious couples are when they decide to say “I do” at the altar. The altering of the second image raises awareness of the rapid divorce rate.