Personal Narrative: The Great Recession

“When it rains, it pours,” and for me it rained for years, each drop causing pain. The torrent never abated until I was choking, until I had given up. However, at the age of eight I didn’t notice the overwhelming flood that had overtaken my home. I didn't realize how this proverb would become the unspoken theme of my life. The Great Recession has had a part in uprooting many people’s lives, it was a somber time when the future of families across the United States were put into question. For me, it was the first domino to fall. My father, the primary breadwinner, was laid off. My parents’ roles completely reversed. I was unused to the ill-tempered personality of my father. My life became a cycle, one day we would be laughing and trading sarcastic remarks, the next his fists would be raised. I could always tell when it would begin, his face would turn beet red, his tongue would stick out and his gut would be pushed in front of him. I quickly learned I was a miniscule child that should be seen and not heard, and he was the indomitable authority figure. Being hit, wrestled, and restrained was common as was the apology for my provocation that followed. More dominoes quickly fell and the torrent of rain became a monsoon, obliterating much in its path. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, financially unstable and emotionally drained.

My friend had noticed my morose nature which was mind boggling to me. I had thought my face was pellucid of these feelings, especially since, around others I was boisterously exuberant and always laughing. For seven hours, we were on the phone talking about everything underneath the sun, it was the first time I had opened up to someone, and rather than judge me, Sam fought for me. She fought for me to understand that although the trials of my family were laborious and painful, it did not make the abuse any less repugnant. Sam believed in me, disagreed with me and altered my life’s