Personal Narrative Analysis

As far as childhoods go, I can reasonably say that mine was atypical. At the time, my childhood was like a fantasy shrouded in sunlight, grass stains, and an indescribable warmth that can only be called love. However, looking back with what I know now, I realize it was so much better and so much worse than that. An important part of who I am comes from the fact that I live on top of a hill without another house for two miles in any direction. That meant my five siblings and I had ample fields and forests to wander aimlessly through. Whenever I recall this time I can't help but remember playing hide and seek, tucked behind a tree, heart pounding, hoping not to be found, but giggling when I am. Moments like these contribute to the sunshine of my youth,

My house being secluded was fully intentional, my dad wanted us to be able to wander but he also held anxiety and insecurity in his heart, so he created an environment away from people and what he considered dangerous. The only places we went were to see relatives or the grocery store and even sometimes we weren't allowed to do that. I remember so many things we weren't allowed to do, some small ones being that we weren't allowed to use the microwave because he thought we would get radiation or that we weren't allowed outside if it was windy because a tree might blow over on us. I never thought these things were odd and I didn't realize how it would shape the person I would be. I only knew that my siblings were my best friends, it didn't matter that the age difference from the youngest of us to the oldest was 18 years, we cared about each other and we cared for each other when things would get dark. When my parents would fight my oldest sister would take us for walks, she watched us, cared for us, and held us responsible for our actions. It wasn't until after I first went to school that I realized the effects my childhood had on