Rough Draft #2

Stephanie Riccio

Eng 112

Autobiography Mix Tape

Draft 1

Life is a journey in which we all endure. There are so many different paths that anyone can go down; whether it be negative or positive. My life is an open novel, and I am the author… what I plan to do is a blank sheet of paper and still unwritten.  In a short nineteen years, life has knocked me down.. then picked me right back up, thrown me sixty five mile per hour fastballs.. then handed me loopy curveballs; life is almost something comparable to the game of chess… unpredictable.

The roller coaster ride that they call life started for me in about tenth grade. I was no longer the “fresh meat” of my high school, I was a sophomore and had a name to make for myself. All throughout my freshmen year I had a boyfriend whom in which controlled my every move, down to the clothes that I wore and not even being able to hang out with my friends. Now was my time to start living life, begin an adventurous journey that had no limits.

As a child I had always had a very close relationship with my mother Linda, from the moment I was born she treated me as a queen. She always seemed to know my every move or thought, which made her such a great mother. As my sophomore year started my mom began to tell me about the difference from right and wrong and how high school can bring you many challenging situations. Since I was born I have always had such a strong personality and my mother was well aware. People often referred to me as a “crazy child” because I would get thrill from living on the edge, which turned the guard that Linda had up to protect me turn into a steal wall.

I loved acting older than I was. In the tenth grade I was going to the senior parties and hanging out with all the older kids. Sooner than later I started lying about where I was going, or what I thought was lying but Linda knew. She knew where I was even when I would tell her otherwise, she knew I was out when I said I was home. This started to tear our relationship apart. The yelling, crying, and fighting got old. Our relationship was not the same anymore, she had become my number one enemy. My mother. Awful and painful to say, but what my young immature mind thought. I would think to myself, how did things get like this? Why wasn’t she “cool” anymore? Was she out to get me? My mom knew I was too young understand why she took the actions she did, to protect me and later on in life I would thank her.

The beginning of my junior year came and our relationship was still held together by tiny strings. Coming up was my sixteenth birthday and Linda’s fortieth birthday. I was sat down at our dinner table and asked by her to join her on a trip to Los Angeles to celebrate. As a reckless teen I thought this was the worst idea and I dreaded it. Why would I want to go spend a week with the woman who tried to ruin my life? Three weeks later I found myself on the plane sitting next to my mother landing in L.A.X. The journey was about to begin. Through out my whole week there, I gained a new perspective on life. Spending time with my mom changed everything for me, I now began to appreciate the little things that mattered instead of everything that only made me happy. Linda is a very unique person. She has her own opinion and insight on every situation. She will speak her mind no matter the environment that surrounds us.

I feel as though the trip with my mother matured me a bit. Yes I was still a junior in high school but I learned that everything m mother did was out of love and compassion. She always had wanted what’s best for her daughter. My mom had saved our relationship by showing me that we can bond and spending time with the people I loved was also fun, for that I will always thank her. Linda is my rock, and the most important woman in my life; an independent, responsible, and caring figure she was and will always remain that.

When it came time to start looking at colleges I got very eager to see what was to come. I loved exploring new adventures and there was a new level of independence coming my way. I couldn’t wait. I had no idea where I was going to go, who I was going to live with, or what major I was going to further my education in but I knew I was ready to find out. Living on my own seemed amazing to me. As my senior year furthered along I decided to attend Southern Connecticut State University. This came as a shock because even as a child I said that I was going to only apply to schools out of the state. I hate Connecticut, the weather, the prices, and even the atmosphere. I hate it all. Yet I stayed in the state to go to school. My roommate ended up being the best choice I’ve ever made. I picked who I was going to be rooming with and that decision was Danielle. Her and I seemed to go together like bread and butter.

Our parents knew us together was trouble, but they let us see what was in store for us. The first night here was parties and late nights. It was everything we dreamed of. No curfews, eat whatever you want, have who ever you want over…what could be better? Were we too young for all that? Too young for bars and clubs and to be with the seniors? Well we loved it. Freshmen didn’t seem to interest us, going to the usual “FLOP” house or De Javu. We didn’t predict this, just seemed to fall into place. Our adventures were and still are endless and we have yet to see what is to come.

One memory that will forever stick with me is Saturday January 25^th.  3:00 in the morning I woke up to Danielle hysterical, screaming, and in panic. Just making up I had no idea what was going on. I was scared and confused. After making sense of her mumbling, I realized that our best friend was murdered. How was this real? Can this of really happed to us we were only 18 years old.

I couldn’t handle the emotions that were going through me. I was way too young to experience death, especially the loss of someone so perfect and special. This brought my life to a screeching halt. I was lost, and scared. This incident made me realize that life is truly a gift that we need to honor everyday. In a matter of a few minutes anyone can be taken from us.

Throughout my journey in life I had came to the conclusion that life is unwritten, and no one can tell the future. The events that take place and the people you meet are random. Even though this is a scary thing to think about it, it is what I love most about life. I do not know where I will be in ten years from now. It would be Florida or it could be Europe. All I do know is that I am going to live a life well worth living, and whatever curve balls are thrown at me I will handle and conquer.