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Friday, October 20, 2017

"White Converse" by Dominique M



      I’ve always been a planner. I’ve always had a plan and about five other back up plans just
in case something went wrong. I had a plan for EVERYTHING and made sure I had one for EVERYTHING, to the point where I had shoe boxes in my room filled with supplies just in case an earthquake happened while I was asleep. One thing that I had never thought about planning for was an economic hardship of some sort. Then again why would I? I was only 11 and the only thing I worried about was having the “coolest” clothes. Even if I was to have a plan, how was I supposed to plan financially when my only source of “income” was an occasional allowance, birthday money, christmas money, and the random five dollars my grandpa would sometimes give me. So what was I supposed to do when I was 11 about to turn 12 and I put two and two together and realized that my parents were struggling to make ends meet. Well for my 12th birthday that year I was mainly given Target gift cards and money. It was perfect and exactly what I needed to buy my school supplies and clothes for the upcoming school year. I had it all planned out perfectly in my head. I would buy everything for myself to save my parents as much money as I possibly could. As the end of July neared my mom took me to Target for back to school shopping. I walked straight to the back to school section where I was met with a variety of notebooks, pencils, pens, paper, etc. I chose five notebooks, a pack of pencils, pens, highlighters, and loose leaf paper. I then realized that if I were to buy clothes I would not have enough to buy a backpack. Luckily I hadn’t gotten rid of my backpack from the previous school year, so I decided that I would re-use it to save money. I then proceeded to go to the girl’s clothes section to look for shirts. When I finally got there I was greeted by a sign that read, “5 for $20”. I looked at the shirts and debated long and hard on which ones to get. I finally came to a
decision and took all my items to checkout. The cashier rang up my items and I barely had enough on the gift card for everything. My mom then took me to Walmart to buy my jeans, they were on sale for 12 dollars. I felt so ashamed and embarrassed because I had to buy and wear jeans from Walmart. The clothes I would be getting for school that year were not the “cool” clothes I was used owning and wearing. My mother could tell that I was upset and tried to comfort me by telling me they were just jeans and that nobody paid attention to where they were from. She was correct but I was just too worried about being different and “uncool”. I grudgingly bought five pairs of jeans with my birthday jeans. My mom and I then walked back to the car and instead of leaving right away she apologized to me. She told me she was sorry that I had to buy my own supplies and clothes for school and that none of this was fair to me. I held back the tears in my eyes and pretended as if I wasn’t bothered and I reassured her that it was fine with me. We then went home and when we arrived it had dawned upon me that I didn’t have shoes for school. I decided not to mention it because I would not be able to buy them and I did not want my parents to use their money to buy me any. I thought to myself and realized that I could use my shoes from the past school year but I knew that they were beaten up and would probably not fit me correctly. It was as if I had a fairy godmother or something because my best friend and her cousin took me to the mall a few days later to buy shoes as a belated birthday present. I was allowed to choose two pairs, it was more than I could ask for. I ended up deciding on getting a pair of black vans and a pair of white converse. I considered many things and put a lot of thought when choosing which shoes to get. I had decided to get the white converse a size and a half bigger than my shoe size. This was my way of planning for the future. I had decided to get them bigger just in case things didn’t get better financially. If I got the shoes bigger then they would
last me longer and I could use them for multiple school years. To this day I still own my white converse and they now fit me correctly. Even though things have gotten better financially at home I don’t plan on ever getting rid of them. My white converse symbolize two things: perseverance and one of the greatest hardships I have faced in my life. They remind me that, “the dark doesn't last forever, even the night is whisked away by the sun eventually.” My white converse also taught me that people are too busy worrying about what others think of them and we as humans value material things more than we should. I was so worried about looking “uncool” because I was not wearing expensive clothes like many of the kids I went to school with. I finally realized that what brand or how expensive someone's clothes is means nothing. Although this was a very difficult time in my life I am thankful for being able to get through it and learn and grow from it.

15 comments:

  1. I really enjoy the deep emotional level that you've decided to put forth for your peers to read. Beautifully done, your attention to your own feelings and attitudes to life at that time truly reflects the maturity you have probably gained from this experience. And now if I ever see these converse of yours I'll know what there from. Gavin Gnaster

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  2. Y'know, I can connect with your piece because of the shoes. I don't feel like my family truly went through an economic hardship of any sort, I just knew keeping the same pair of shoes would make things a little easier, without having to spend the extra money. I've had the same pair of shoes since the beginning of high school up until about a month ago (my girlfriend got me new shoes). I also feel like the connection with the shoes represents adventure and memories; the same gray Nike SB's I went to Washington D.C. in are the same shoes that I went to my first concert in, and the same shoes that I got a seventeen shaved into my hair in. Pieces of clothing don't always have to be cool and new, they can be worn and loved, and represent all of the adventures you've had in them. Thanks for making your piece easy to relate to.

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  3. I can definitely relate this as I always wanted the latest and greatest new clothing and shoes, even to this day. However, my family didn't have the money for the branded clothing that I've always wanted. Even though I still love the branded clothing to this day, I learned that there are things that are way more than materials such as skills, friends, family, etc. Beautifully written piece!
    DeAndre Siringoringo P.1

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  4. I really enjoyed this piece and how you incorporated emotion into it. Recently, I've been enjoying buying expensive pairs of Jordan's and clothes just because I like how they look. However, this piece made me realize that I only wear my Jordan's whenever I go out and how rarely I wear them as I do not want to dirty them at school, as well as rarely wearing some of my clothes. This piece made me remember where I came from growing up, and how little these materialistic items truly even matter to me. Also, it will be cool to know how meaningful your converse are to you and the story behind them whenever I see you wear them.

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  5. Great piece Dom! I could really understand how you were feeling when this event happened and I'm sorry you had to go through this at such a young age. I can relate to this experience as well as I am now helping my family financially by paying for all the extracurricular activities that I'm involved in. I hope that you continue to help out your parents because they really do so much to make sure we're happy.

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  6. I admire how you incorporated so much symbolism into your shoes. You made your story vey personal which is what I feel like truly captured my attention as I read the whole thing. After reading this, I was able to get an idea the kind of person you are which is a genuine person who thinks long term and someone who is considerate of others.

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  7. You have a big heart. As a child sometimes we're unaware of the things going on or we just don't figure out a way to aid in these things because we think they're out of our reach but you did all you could to not put pressure on your parents. When you wrote about your mom apologizing to you and how you had to hold back tears actually made me cry. Just like our parents try to be these heroes for us, sometimes we try to be just as strong for them. It's also sweet that you kept the shoes because of all the meaning you see with them and of your experience. I love you momma dom!

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  8. This story showed me the side of you that I love, how caring and considerate you are. I completely understand how you could feel guilty for asking your parents for things. This piece shows how strong you are and I admire that. The white shoes show how much you've grown and how much your family has overcome. This was a very great piece, you should write more often. Love you <3

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  9. Thank you for sharing this, I admire this piece so much and the way you integrated your thoughts and feelings !

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  10. I can relate to your story. My family has been going through hardships that I didn’t even know about. Even though this happened when you were 11, I can see that any of us would feel the same way about wanting “cool” clothes. You are truly understanding and even when you were a child, you are wise. This was a really touching piece and I love how your emotions showed through.

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  11. I loved this story. I loved how you understood that your family was struggling and you tried to do everything you possibly could to help. My favorite part of this whole story is that you included how you grew from this experience.
    -Steve Martinez

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  12. Thank you for being so open about your life and hardships. I appreciated how you used examples, like your earthquake kit, to clarify your skill at preparation. When you explained the symbolism behind your white converse I was so taken aback because you were a child when you made that thoughtful and kind decision. You were and are so wise and strong!
    -Elizabeth Rivera

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  13. It's quite amazing what some parents are willing to do for their children. It's also admirable when said child's appreciation or gratefulness is made apparent; especially when many don't realize exactly what they have. I admire those characteristics you hold, as well as the way you presented those experiences leading you that way. Beautifully written.

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  14. This was such an amazing piece truly and I'm glad to have came across it! Not only was it written to perfection but the genuine experience you had growing up really made the story meaningful.

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  15. I love your story. I really admire how you, at such a young age, were able to be so mature and understanding of your parents' situation. I would like to learn from this; I know I can be very selfish sometimes, especially to my family. I think this would benefit me as it seems this maturity is rewarded in the end.

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