Espia 1

Koren Espia

Mrs. Bennet

English 9

The 7th of Feburary

The Effect of One Small Phrase

One important event in my life happened somewhere in August of 2016. My mom, my sister,

and I were in the kitchen. My mom was cooking, my sister was just chilling, and I was shirtless,

eating. I then saw some raw chicken wings that my mom was thawing. I loved chicken wings, so I

asked my mom if she could cook them. My mom said that she would cook the wings the next day. I

got so angry, that I said to my mom, “I’m tired of you…” This made my mom heartbroken and

furious. So she said to me that I was a jerk and she would put me in the orphanage. Back then, I

didn’t really like to say sorry, so I just kept quiet. Judging by the look of my mom’s eyes, she wasn’t

joking. My sister then searched up on her computer nearby orphanages and said that there was an

orphanage in Talofofo. I was getting scared. I was praying pathetically. My mom then told me that

praying won’t help.

When I was “sleeping,” I heard my mom calling somebody, and apparently, her name was

“Ms. Chako.” My mom was asking her if they still accept children and told her that I was being

disrespectful. After my mom left the room, my sister came in and woke me up. She tried teaching me

a lesson about how you can’t put back your words in your mouth. She demonstrated this with

toothpaste. When you squeeze out the toothpaste, you can’t put it back inside the container. At this

point, I was mentally prepared to leave my family and stay in an orphanage.

My mom then woke me up at 6 in the morning. It was Saturday. She prepared a large suitcase

for me and had already packed my clothes. I secretly packed bananas and ramen packets. My mom

still sounded really angry and that she no longer wanted me in her life anymore. I, without any care
 Espia 2

Koren Espia

Mrs. Bennet

English 9

The 7th of Feburary

of this earth, loaded my suitcase in the trunk. While my dad was driving me to Talofofo, he told me a

story of when he was young. My dad used to live in a poor home with a really strict dad. I realized

that my dad went through a lot more things than I did when he was my age. My dad then wanted to

call my mom and ask her if I could live with her again. At first, I didn’t want to call her, but of

course, I had no choice. As I was calling her we saw a big building which looked like a school in the

distance. I told my mom that I was sorry, and she forgave me.

When we went back home I didn’t want to ever talk to my mother again. She still sounded

mad at me. And as months passed by, our relationship was somewhat restored. She explained to me

that there was actually no orphanage in Talofofo and that the big building was actually a school. And

when I was sleeping, she wasn’t actually calling anyone.

You might be asking, why is this a life-changing event? Did you realize that you have to be

grateful to your family members? No, I knew how to be grateful before that happened. This event

actually was the reason why I rarely talk to my family. Ever since August 2016, I have never said the

phrase “I love you” to my family members. I never show them my real lively personality, which can

also mean that I never sang and even spoke in an English accent in front of them. I also only answer

them with yes, no, oh ok, and poop. This also helped me become more independent and learn how to

live in this world without the help of my family members. But If I were, to be honest, you should still

love your family and enjoy them while you still can. Once you reach 18 and you’re officially

independent for good, you’re on your own.