I sent this autobiography to a friend for a school project she was working on. I kind of liked it so I want to save it here.
It’s hard to sum up who you are in a half a page. But at the same time I know who we all are. We are made up of what I like to call little bits. Little bits of happiness, sadness, heartache & joy. These little bits get stuck to us as we move through our path in life, experiencing things we never knew we would experience. I grew up in a small town in Utah, with the mountain as my backyard. I was the most carefree child, and also was probably kind of weird. But I didn’t mind. I was in the mountains playing with my brothers & neighbors every single day, turning the mountain into our own community complete with the Cactus Hotel (a cluster of cacti) & Work Rock (a huge rock). Creative, right? During the summers when I’d get hungry, I’d venture down to the family garden and eat peas & strawberries for snacks. My childhood is a large bit of joy. I carry it with me everywhere.
It’s hard to sum up who you are in a half a page. But at the same time I know who we all are. We are made up of what I like to call little bits. Little bits of happiness, sadness, heartache & joy. These little bits get stuck to us as we move through our path in life, experiencing things we never knew we would experience. I grew up in a small town in Utah, with the mountain as my backyard. I was the most carefree child, and also was probably kind of weird. But I didn’t mind. I was in the mountains playing with my brothers & neighbors every single day, turning the mountain into our own community complete with the Cactus Hotel (a cluster of cacti) & Work Rock (a huge rock). Creative, right? During the summers when I’d get hungry, I’d venture down to the family garden and eat peas & strawberries for snacks. My childhood is a large bit of joy. I carry it with me everywhere.
When I was 23
I divorced a man who was extremely verbally abusive. The previous two and a
half years were the most lonely I’d ever been. I didn’t even know I was in an
abusive relationship until about a year and half in to my marriage. That’s the
thing about abuse, it steals little bits of you, hides them away somewhere
until you’re gone, & you have no idea where you went. When I didn’t
recognize myself in the mirror, when I was numb to any sort of feelings, that’s
when I knew I had to leave. I packed up
this bit of sadness & loneliness & left. And yes, I carry it with me
everywhere. But not in the same way as my happiness. This bit is tucked up
small somewhere, a string of memories. It reminds me of how good I have it now,
how I found my bits of happiness & self again on my own. These sad bits of
me are there to help others going through similar situations; I can lend a
shoulder to lean on.
I carry these experiences and countless more with me at all
times. The good, the bad, the ugly. I look back and appreciate every single
bit. I look forward, ready to gather little bits of beauty and pain that life
is offering me.