Personal Narrative: Alcoholism In Italy

"Tell me a story about your family." It was my first day in Rome. I had finished traveling 16 hours to start an adventure in a brand new country, and my host mother was cooking the first of many incredible Italian dinners to come and trying to get to know me. "I don't really have any stories." This was definitely not true, but I did not necessarily want to talk about my family in my native language of English, and certainly not in my then shaky Italian. How does one eloquently translate 'rampant alcoholism'? How could I have told her that 16 hours before, my father drove me to the airport while still drunk from the night before. How could I have predicted that the day I returned from my exciting time in Italy, I would find out that my brother, also an addict, had been missing for weeks after he stole thousands of dollars, prescription medication, and a gun from my parents. …show more content…
My family’s instability led me to find my own sense of balance and order by developing a strong work ethic. During my junior year, I worked for Representative Mary Gonzalez. I worked mainly on human rights related bills. I wrote countless one-pagers and talking points, badgered representatives, and spoke with various experts to understand the reasoning behind the most persuasive arguments both for and against the bills. I can remember running up and down the four flights of stairs it took to get to the House Floor from Representative Gonzalez’s office at least 15 times in one day, just to make sure that she had everything she needed to fight tooth and nail for a bill I had worked on. I loved it. I had found a passion that I was not aware had previously existed within