Personal Narrative: I Leave The Amish

“Tell me more about english life,” I pled. As we sat by the river, my friend Levi began to tell me about the amazing restaurants, movies, and the exciting English life of the twenty-first century. I was mostly intrigued by the clothing and fashion that did not exist at all in my town. I longed to leave the Amish community. The more I learned more about what I was missing, the more I realized I had to escape this dreadful town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
I am the daughter of John Beiler, one of the districts preachers and my mother Miriam. There are seven kids in our family Jedidiah, Eliza, me, Isaac, Rebecca, Louisa, and Irene. People think we are the quintessential Amish family, but I'm sure everyone else, like me, has their rebellious secrets. They all have dark hair and dark eyes, and I, of course, am the odd one out with lighter hair and crystal blue eyes. The people in the community perceive me as a perfect Amish girl and watch everything I do. I am currently courting a member of the community and family friend called Philip Fisher. …show more content…
He is a 31 year old farmer and is very nice but incredibly boring. Before I met Levi, I made the decision to be baptized in the Amish community last year. I'm getting old, and I knew I would have to get married soon because my old order Amish parents were pressuring me. When Philip asked me if I wanted to court him I said yes because I felt it was the right thing to do.
“You should be getting home about now,” said Levi. “Your family will be waking up”.
I thanked him and began running home. Levi is so wonderful and interesting. He is our milk delivery boy, and is always around the neighborhood. I have been meeting up with him early in most mornings to dream about English life. He is the only person who knows my secret wish to leave the amish. He is also a big secret; I could not have anyone find out I was spending time with another man. We are just friends but I feel guilty because I might like him more than Philip. Being with Philip would be the easy choice. We could have the life and Amish family that I am supposed to have, but I am inexplainably drawn to Levi. I was frantically putting on my head cover and making myself look presentable. It was about 5:00 am and I rushed to grab a bucket to begin my morning chores of gathering eggs. I jumped when I heard the door swing open. It was just my brother Isaac. We began silently working together; Isaac looked like he had something to say. I worried that he knew I had just come home, but I did not say anything. Isaac is my closest sibling in age and we used to be inseparable. We drifted apart as we got older and took on more responsibilities. He is the only sibling who could possibly understand me. I trusted Isaac. I needed to tell him everything about Levi and the English life. I needed to let it out. “Isaac,” I said warily. Before he could answer, I heard the door swing open again. “Anna, come in and help us make breakfast,” my mother said softly. All my sisters and I cooked in the kitchen together just like we do every morning. We lived a simple life so we can better dedicate it to God. We lived without mirrors and with basic conservative clothing to focus on God instead of ourselves. We had no television, radio, or phone because they distracted us. I wanted to wear English clothes more than anything. I wanted to feel good about myself and express myself. Because Levi enlightened me, I knew I could do so while still praising the lord. The next morning, it was Sunday, the Sabbath Day. That meant all work stopped for one day and church was the priority. We had prepared ourselves on Saturday by thoroughly cleaning ourselves and our house. Early in the morning, my sisters and I got ready in our solid colored dresses, and our hair pinned up in white head covering and in an additional black bonnet for the day. I tried to find my reflection in the dark glass window to see how I looked. I