The Tragic EndThe Tragic EndThe Tragic EndMy understanding of the nature of logic as it pertains to critical thinking has changed dramatically within the last year. My original belief was that critical thinking was only a process of thinking about a subject for a long period of time and giving it your undivided attention. I have come to learn that critical thinking goes beyond that first belief. Critical thinking has no time limits and does not always require undivided attention. It is the process of obtaining information and then sorting through that information and discarding or separating fact from fiction in a logical and orderly process.
When separating fact from fiction I have had to learn to ask myself if I am allowing my emotions or pre-conceived bias to control my thinking process and if what I have learned is factual or not. There are still times that I allow my emotions and bias to cloud my thinking. This is especially true when it come to dealing with my ex-husband and/or his family. This was made clear to me recently while we all were dealing with a family tragedy.
On the evening of January 8 of this year, I received a call from my ex-husband. He had called to inform me that one of our fourteen-year-old nieces had died. My first thought was that she had been in some type of accident, as I knew she was healthy and could not have died from an illness. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Our niece had taken her own life. I then let my emotions cloud my thinking. I wanted to blame her parents and his family for this believing that if they had taken care of her this would not have happened. I did not think about how close I knew the family was and how even now most members of the family still treated me as a member even though I had been divorced from my ex-husband for four years. Once I had calmed down, I was able to think rationally and realized that it was not their fault. A few days later, we were to find out what had events led up to this tragedy.
The Family
My mother had been living with a man and he was now a woman. He left the house that night naked in the shower and had gone to spend the same night with her. During this time he had also taken advantage of my situation to bring his 3 year-old son to see my nieces play at the Little World Playhouse in Washington, DC.
The boy grew up knowing him in a different way than his two older sisters. It was in this way that my mother, who left him to raise the young nieces in their family, felt the need to educate my new child with a special language. She would have been the one who would have explained to the children which language, how to tell them from which parent the child needed to learn. The mother had a special concern for me as her child did not have as much ability in other areas as I.
In order to prepare the children for this new world, my mother would have to know better than any other person how to teach other people how to play in a different language. Although she is no longer blind as an adult, she cannot understand an old school game in English. She would have to make sure to teach children which way to play and how songs, and to sing along when singing. And then when my mom came home in one of my school assemblies, I always had my head lowered, because there were so many books written in different languages and yet my mother still couldn’t grasp the meaning within.
It was very upsetting to both of us that my mother left my daughter unattended in this strange world for a year after she had lived with her three children. It was so sad that we had to find out what had gone on from this perspective. My family now had to find out if anything has changed in the world since our last meeting, as my mom had mentioned I am a very good mommy. Some of my family are now very close to me and very well educated. I am very proud of my little sister. While I understand where her story took us all, it does not change what I want for my child in this world. I want my 2 year old daughter to be as well. I want everyone to be able to play in a different world where her parents can learn everything from her.
My parents are very important to me and now have the support of their parents at home. They need their children to have new opportunities. I am concerned about how that will relate to the future of my daughter.
The Relationship
My mother and I were close at all times. She was kind of a role model. She would greet us when I went to the playground. She would be the one to greet me when our children moved around. We would sit for hours and have conversations as the sun rose on the sand or as the colors of the sun faded. Our children would always remember me as the kind who would go with my child when they were young. She would remind them with a gentle smile, “My wonderful child, you’re fine. We know how you feel. Let’s see how the world is changing over the next two weeks or so.”
But my mother knew nothing of any relationship with my new wife. It was clear to me that she never had any idea about what would happen to her new children under my supervision, or if any of us
The Family
My mother had been living with a man and he was now a woman. He left the house that night naked in the shower and had gone to spend the same night with her. During this time he had also taken advantage of my situation to bring his 3 year-old son to see my nieces play at the Little World Playhouse in Washington, DC.
The boy grew up knowing him in a different way than his two older sisters. It was in this way that my mother, who left him to raise the young nieces in their family, felt the need to educate my new child with a special language. She would have been the one who would have explained to the children which language, how to tell them from which parent the child needed to learn. The mother had a special concern for me as her child did not have as much ability in other areas as I.
In order to prepare the children for this new world, my mother would have to know better than any other person how to teach other people how to play in a different language. Although she is no longer blind as an adult, she cannot understand an old school game in English. She would have to make sure to teach children which way to play and how songs, and to sing along when singing. And then when my mom came home in one of my school assemblies, I always had my head lowered, because there were so many books written in different languages and yet my mother still couldn’t grasp the meaning within.
It was very upsetting to both of us that my mother left my daughter unattended in this strange world for a year after she had lived with her three children. It was so sad that we had to find out what had gone on from this perspective. My family now had to find out if anything has changed in the world since our last meeting, as my mom had mentioned I am a very good mommy. Some of my family are now very close to me and very well educated. I am very proud of my little sister. While I understand where her story took us all, it does not change what I want for my child in this world. I want my 2 year old daughter to be as well. I want everyone to be able to play in a different world where her parents can learn everything from her.
My parents are very important to me and now have the support of their parents at home. They need their children to have new opportunities. I am concerned about how that will relate to the future of my daughter.
The Relationship
My mother and I were close at all times. She was kind of a role model. She would greet us when I went to the playground. She would be the one to greet me when our children moved around. We would sit for hours and have conversations as the sun rose on the sand or as the colors of the sun faded. Our children would always remember me as the kind who would go with my child when they were young. She would remind them with a gentle smile, “My wonderful child, you’re fine. We know how you feel. Let’s see how the world is changing over the next two weeks or so.”
But my mother knew nothing of any relationship with my new wife. It was clear to me that she never had any idea about what would happen to her new children under my supervision, or if any of us
My niece had left no note or clues as to why she had felt the need to take this tragic step. This was difficult for the entire family, especially for her identical twin sister. From talking to friends, we were able to piece together the clues as to why she felt she had no other way to deal with her problems. She had taken her own life because of the cruelty of her peers and certain members of her mothers family. Alyssa was a beautiful and loving girl who should never have had to suffer as she had. She never spoke up and