Kiera Carr-Garrity

Deby Jizi
UWRT 1101-076
1 October 2015
Self-Authorship Essay
May 29th, 2015, The Warren family gathered for our 25th annual reunion in Oriental,
North Carolina. Everyone was excited to catch up with one another and have a fun-filled
weekend on the sound. Little did we know that this weekend would take a turn for the worse in a
matter of hours. At the end of the street where the Warren familys house is, is a small hotel
where the rest of the family stays. At the hotel, was a pool that all of the kids swam at every year.
On May 29th, when all of the family got settled in, part of the family, including all of the
youngins, went for a swim in the pool. 4:15pm, about forty-five minutes after being there, we
realized that our sweet six-year-old John-Robert was missing. Warren Gore, a relative jumped
into the pool and started searching. Will Warren, another relative and best friend to John-Robert,
thought that he had seen a toy at the bottom of the pool so he swam down to get it. It was John
Robert. Warren pulled John-Robert out of the pool and Michelle, the family nurse, began doing
CPR. Police, ambulances, and even fire trucks were at the scene within a matter of five minutes.
That day, our sweet John Robert Rosario went to spend eternity with our Heavenly Father.
Besides the thirteen-year age difference between John-Robert and I, we were very close and I
have not been the same person since that day.
Who John Robert was reminded me of myself at the same age, except he was better.
John-Robert and I were both fun loving and cared for others before ourselves. Not knowing how

to act in certain situations, we went to humor even though we didnt know how to think of a
good joke either so we just kind of laughed at ourselves.
Growing up with a sister so close in age wasnt easy. It especially wasnt easy when you
and your sister were growing up in a single-parent house hold and had no present father figure. I
think the situation was difficult on me but even more difficult on my sister, Delilah. Delilah was,
and still is, much more similar to our father while I am more similar to our mother. Not only that,
but, I grew up extremely close to our only grandfather so I had somewhat of a father figure.
Delilah didnt have any male figure in her life and I think this is why she lived her childhood
turned against me. Delilah took every opportunity to make me feel like the dirt on the bottom of
her shoes. She called me just about every four-letter word out there and I started to believe that I
were the things in which she was calling me because I heard it so often. Delilah used to think that
I was an awful person. You see, she used to think that but we are much closer now. I think the
small age difference of one and a half years between us negatively affected our relationship
while we were younger because we were both too similar but the age difference now has a
positive affect on our relationship. We are best friends and realize that God gave us each other to
tackle life together. We fight, we laugh, we cry, we are basically the same person, and our
relationship that we share is the most cherished relationship both of us have to anyone. Given
that my grandfather and I have always been close, I have finally accepted the fact that his
opinion of me is the only one that matters to me. Unlike my sister in her young age, my grandpa
has always seen me to be the loving, motivated person that I am.
According to the University of Pennsylvania, my top character strength is gratitude and I
couldnt agree more. Besides growing up in what I found to be a difficult situation, I have always
been more than thankful for all that I have and have noticed things that I wouldnt have if it

werent for my familys situation. If I had a present dad growing up, my grandfather and I would
never have been best friends, I would have never realized how much my mother did to raise me,
and I would have never found my identity in the Lord. For as long as I can remember, every
Christmas, my Great aunt and Uncle have always given Delilah and I more presents than any of
my family members. They make a big ordeal every year out of buying us new clothes, purses,
and even decorations for our rooms; its the greatest. Every year I make sure that I go out of my
way to make sure that they know I am so thankful for what the do for me. I write them thank you
letters and am intentional in keeping communication with them throughout the year. I visit them
when I return home from college and bring them things; I love them as if they are my own
grandparents. Id like to think that I am this relational with other people as well.
Caring is an adjective that anyone who knows me well will use to describe me. I was
fairly close to my family growing up and even if I wasnt close to someone, I cared immensely
for them. You see, my father and Is relationship was nonexistent, however, he had a heart
condition that left him in the hospital most of the time and I cared about him so much. I have
always had so many relatives and when my great uncle Edward passed away in 2014, I was
broken. I have always cared for others before myself as a little girl, but it was when I learned the
love of Jesus Christ, I only began to care more. John 13:34-35 says So now I am giving you a
new commandment: love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your
love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. When I acknowledged
the fact that God so died on the cross for the homeless and drug addicts just like he did for me, I
became humbled. I try to love others every day just like Jesus loves them.
Being family oriented, I have always loved the fall and winter months. When the weather
begins to get chilly, I become excited because it means that a lot of family time is in the near

future. I have so many distant relatives that I dont get to see until we all gather for Thanksgiving
and Christmas. Spending time with my grandmother is my favorite because we get to cook
together for the family functions and work on wrapping presents together. All around, fall and
winter are things that I love.
Above everything else, I believe in putting other people first. When you place others
before yourself, you are also revealing many more things you believe in such as love, grace,
selflessness, and even equality. I will never forget what my mentor, Ashley, told me a while back;
she told me that you gain your life when you lose it. Whether you lose your life to God, to
others, or to whatever it may be, you are gaining a life in return. This is how I know who I am
today because I find my identity when I live for God first and others second.
A majority of this essay was written in class, which helped me compile everything
together. I am not much of a writer and writing becomes much more difficult for me when I am
not in a class setting in which I am forced to write. I loved re-reading what I have written and
changing things about my essay at home so I can look at it in two different mindsetsfrom two
different perspectives. I decided to keep most of my essay in order as presented by Ms. Jizi in
class because it flowed the best that way. One part of my essay, that I just cant seem to get right,
about what I love was the most difficult section for me to write about because things that I
openly talk about loving are all throughout my essay. If I were to ask Ms. Jizi questions about
my work, I would ask if she is disappointed in my writing as much as I am. I am embarrassed
when I read what I have written to myself, nonetheless to my peers in class!
Once receiving the three-step responses from both Keith and Zhane, I made a few
changes to my essay. One main thing I changed was adding detail into parts about my sister and
Is relationship. When I discussed my essay with Keith and Zhane in class, we all got caught up

in discussing our own sibling relationships and it really made me realize how worth it is sharing
those types of things with other people. Additionally, in both Zhane and Keiths responses to my
essay, they asked for more information about my sister so I decided to add more. One thing
Zhane asked me is if I am willing to change anything about myselfand this really had me
thinking. I wasnt quite sure what she meant by this: am I at fault for something in her eyes?
Should I be willing to change? What does she think I should change about myself? And, in
response to her question, no, I am not willing to change anything about myself because I dont
see what I should change.