Personal Narrative By H. Jackson Brown Jr.

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H. Jackson Brown, Jr. once said, “Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own.” When I was seven years old, I watched my mom and dad argue in the middle of a parking lot. The next morning, I discovered my dad’s belongings and car were gone. I did not realize this at the time, but my parents separated that day. Through their separation, I learned that I do not need my dad, his happiness was not more important than mine, and that he did not love me. After the separation, my dad would visit me every other Saturday and on holidays. When he arrived we played videogames, board games, or a game of soccer in the backyard. Occasionally we went to the mall, went to the park, or spent the night at my grandparents’ house. …show more content…
You don’t have to invite him if you don’t want to.” “But I would feel guilty about it.” “When your dad made his decision eleven years ago, I told him that there will be a time in your life when you won’t want anything to do with him. I told him you would be busy doing your own thing and hanging out with your own friends. He had his chance to be involved and he threw it away. I told him not to whine if that time comes. If he gives you any crap about this, I’ll remind him about the conversation we had.” After doing some more thinking, I decided not to invite my dad for several reasons. First of all, I did not want to put my mom in an awkward situation. After the separation, any time they talked to each other, tension hung heavily in the air. They acted civil to each other on the surface, but after fighting in the parking lot that night, they probably had some disdain for one another. I did not want to put my mom in a scenario where she had to have a prolonged conversation with him. Second of all, he did not deserve to come to my Senior Night. He had the chance to be my dad eleven years ago, and he decided he did not want to. He cannot disappear for all that time and randomly decide he wants to be involved in my life. If you want to be someone’s parent, you need to be there through all of

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