Glittery Essay, Research Paper
The divorce of my parents on my fourteenth
birthday… The death of my grandmother, my closest
relative… When these tragedies occurred, I acted as
though nothing was wrong, like that was how it was
supposed to be. During our countries “Gilded Age”, the
immigrants who came from all across the seas, thought
the United States was perfect. As we and many others
have learned, the proverb, “All that glitters is not gold”
holds true in many circumstances.
It was my fourteenth birthday; my dad had just come
home from being in Kansas. For my birthday he bought
me a fourteen-carat gold necklace and a T-shirt with a
dog on it. After my family ate dinner and dessert, my
mom and dad despersed to their bedroom. The house was
silent. I went into their bedroom to see what they were
doing. I always did. I asked what was up and my dad
with tears in his eyes told me my mother wanted a divorce
from him. My heart shattered. I said “Oh,” and
disappeared into m bedoom. In the dark abyss of
loneliness, I cried. The next day and all through their
divorce my parents would ask how I felt. All I would say
was, “Fine,” and walk away. I was far from being fine.
“I can not wait until we get there,” an Irish woman
once said to her husband on their way to America. A few
months later the woman states that she wishes she could
go back to “the old country.” The woman thought they
would come into instant wealth and live in a glorious
country. Alas, it was not to happen. America was going
through some tough times. There were not enough jobs to
supply for all the incoming immigrants. There was not
enough wealth circulating for the amount of people in the
United States. America was glorified, but on the inside it
was as bad off as some of the overseas countries.
My closest relative; my confidant; my grandmother
was on her deathbed. My father was going to be with her
in her final hours and offered my brother and me to come
along to say goodbye. Since goodbye meant forever, I
thought that if I did not say it, then she might not die. I
stayed at my friend’s house that night. The next morning,
at eight o’clock, my mother came to pick me up. I met her
in the driveway. On her face was a smile, she was glad to
see her daughter. When we were on the way home, she
told me that at 5:35 AM that morning my grandmother
drew her last pained gasp of air and passed away. She
did not cry when she told me this, the tears were streaming
on the inside. Ever since then I have bottled up my
emotions and put on a facade of happiness.
I have learned through history lessons and life that
this proverb is true in all cases. Though, something may
be shining on the outside it may be dingy or depressed on
the inside. All that glitters is not gold.