I grew up here
in the land of sun, dirt, and more sun
New Braunfels, Texas
under the shade of the many, many mesquites and oaks and among the multitude of bluebonnets.
It was a very tight-knit community,
and everyone was involved in everything.
Sunday and Wednesday were church days,
I always had my AWANAS memory verse memorized.
I was homeschooled,
a fact that I’m very proud of.
Wednesday was always the day that my friend Caroline would come over,
and we’d do our homework on the trampoline or on the roof.
I took horseback-riding lessons at Miss Marian’s Ranch,
and German dancing lessons for Wurstfest,
the yearly “10 day salute to sausage” festival.
My free time was usually spent with my grandparents and cousins,
like I said, we were very tight-knit.
I grew up in the sun, I was only ever inside because it was too hot or I had to do my homework,
I grew up at Schlitterbahn, the country’s largest and best waterpark.
I grew up in a tube on the Comal River, where my dad found countless pairs of lost sunglasses.
I grew up at Landa Park, rollerskating and playing at the playgrounds.
I grew up in my grandparent’s antique auction house, where I’d help my Oma unwrap the multitudes of antiques that came through there.
I grew up at Oakwood Baptist Church, where there were Easter egg hunts and Sunday School
I grew up in the big climbing tree in my front yard,
it was my fortress of solitude and my reading nook
I grew up playing basketball with my dad, I always thought that he was the best of the best
and I wanted to be just like him.
I grew up in my kitchen, watching my mom cut hair for her clients and I tried to sell them chicken salad and mac-and-cheese from my “Sunnyside Cafe”
I grew up with my friends, having scavenger hunts and tea parties and building rock walls that we thought were impenetrable, when in reality never got higher than 2 feet.
I grew up homeschooled, but I was never lonely or over-sheltered or messed up, as is the typical prejudice against homeschoolers.
I grew up Christian, but I wasn’t biased and rude,
I had no reason to be, I had never even heard of that concept.
I grew up with old-fashioned values, values that I still follow today.
I grew up to be comfortable in my own skin, and to love myself, flaws and all.
I grew up in New Braunfels, Texas...
And I came out just fine.
This is an entry in a recent memoir I wrote for an AP English class. It's definitely one of my favorite pieces I've written and hope and readers I've got out there will enjoy it. Thanks
