First Day in School: Growing Out of Dependency Essay

Looking back on a childhood filled with events and memories, I find it rather difficult to pick on that. It leaves me with the fabled â€Å"warm and fuzzy feelings†. As a kid who grew up from another country, I had a pleasure of learning different language and culture. I have to learn both Filipino and English. However, I have discovered that when reflecting on my childhood, it is not the difficult learning that come to mind, instead there are details from everyday doings; a deck of cards, a silver bank or an ice cream flavor. One memory that comes to mind belongs to a day with particular importance. It was my very first day of school. Learning something new can be a scary experience. The first 4 years of my life was spent at home mostly with my parents who were there every step of the way. My day started with a hearty breakfast prepared by Mom, who would patiently cook eggs, fried rice and spam. All of us would rush to the table and get ready for the day’s school or work. After breakfast, I would be the last child left behind with Mom. For 4 full years, my life was comfortable. It consisted of a routine, a structure of dependency which meant I didn’t have to worry about what to wear, when to eat and what time someone was going to give me a bath. It was 4 years built on knowing that my loving parents were there to protect me and my selfless siblings were there as well to pamper me, being the youngest in the family. Then one day, thinking that the morning was going to be how it’s always been, I thought wrong. Mom told me I was going to school. I initially thought, it was going to be fun, to be out of the house and break from the routine for a change. However, as soon as I got to the school in the midst of total strangers, I found my world crumbling. I tugged nervously at Mom and looked at her to say, this was not the place I want to be. She tugged back with confidence and escorted me to my classroom with my new teacher welcoming me with a smile along with the rest of the kids in the room. I remembered crying hard for the first time in my life as if my Mom was abandoning me for the rest of my life. What seemed to be the first 10 minutes felt like an eternity. My first day of school was a realization that my sheltered years of being around my parents and siblings are over. It signaled the day when I realized that my dependency on my family was over. It made me understand that at that very moment, I had to learn to be on my own, make friends with people I barely know and learn to stand up for myself. Before the day was over, it made me realize that there was something to look forward to when school was over. It was scary to be on my own for the first time. However, I found comfort in the fact that Mom would rescue me from the melancholy experience of my first day in school.