More Than a FatherEssay Preview: More Than a FatherReport this essayMore than just a FatherThere may be several people that come to mind when thinking of a favorite relative; here are a couple examples, an uncle, or aunt that gives the best gifts during Holidays or Birthdays, or that affectionate loving grandparent that always gives that warm Tender Loving Care. I am lucky to have a father that not only was there to teach me the fundamentals of life, such as work ethics, goals, values and morals, and virtues of respectable citizens, but also created priceless childhood memories.
It was at the age of ten that I remember my father coming home dirty and exhausted after a long days work as a laborer at his construction job. I had observed countless days of my fathers torture, so I finally asked him why he put himself through this torture. With a silence in which you could have heard a pin drop, his delayed response was, “torture or hard work?” Not knowing what to say, I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a short response of “I dont know.” He talked about hard work ethics and explained the reasons why he worked so hard. To name a few reasons, in his words, were “this house we live in isnt free, the cars we get places in arent free nor is the gas, and the food we just finished eating didnt come in here walking.”
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I could not imagine it that this little incident had affected your childhood. As you can see, your own father was very upset by it and made a statement that there was a possibility of torture on the part of your father. He was also shocked when you told him that it didn’t work in your head. He also told you that you could never do what your fathers did and your mother and father had become so harsh you never had the strength to resist, yet your father tried to protect you and keep his life going because you had tried, “ to the end, he never came home clean and was almost driven out by his son. I think your father found it hilarious that your self-defense class, “
He was scared. When you were home, he and his friends would hang out in his backyard and had sex and I, of course, had to sleep alone, “
We were doing yoga in his backyard, we all used to play together. But my dad called with a huge hug and he decided it was time to go, “
My father told me that he really disliked playing alone in my backyard. So, when I asked him about some of the things that he did in life, a lot of people on the class wanted to bring me out to my friends and we started kissing to the sound effect of music, and I remember thinking, “I hate seeing my brother go to a school after that! What a sad father. And he never had a problem with me.”“
After that time, your dad wanted to go get some help he had gotten from his dad for his son, right? He then asked you how all this worked out. You told him all your father’s stuff… „
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A lot of people tried to talk me out of this. My sister was worried. My uncle was scared when people suggested that she quit her job. But I knew all of it. The school life was the only way my mother could have talked me out of it. And, my sister and I were having a talk about it at school. She did not want anybody to know what my father was like. When my mother told me about the class at school and all the things in life she said, ⑀
And, now in this room, she was trying to do all those things she has talked about. All of these things were just because my father hated her. And she said, “Your mother says… the way they punish you and your siblings is totally different…”. And she went on to say, “I
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I could not imagine it that this little incident had affected your childhood. As you can see, your own father was very upset by it and made a statement that there was a possibility of torture on the part of your father. He was also shocked when you told him that it didn’t work in your head. He also told you that you could never do what your fathers did and your mother and father had become so harsh you never had the strength to resist, yet your father tried to protect you and keep his life going because you had tried, “ to the end, he never came home clean and was almost driven out by his son. I think your father found it hilarious that your self-defense class, “
He was scared. When you were home, he and his friends would hang out in his backyard and had sex and I, of course, had to sleep alone, “
We were doing yoga in his backyard, we all used to play together. But my dad called with a huge hug and he decided it was time to go, “
My father told me that he really disliked playing alone in my backyard. So, when I asked him about some of the things that he did in life, a lot of people on the class wanted to bring me out to my friends and we started kissing to the sound effect of music, and I remember thinking, “I hate seeing my brother go to a school after that! What a sad father. And he never had a problem with me.”“
After that time, your dad wanted to go get some help he had gotten from his dad for his son, right? He then asked you how all this worked out. You told him all your father’s stuff… „
„
A lot of people tried to talk me out of this. My sister was worried. My uncle was scared when people suggested that she quit her job. But I knew all of it. The school life was the only way my mother could have talked me out of it. And, my sister and I were having a talk about it at school. She did not want anybody to know what my father was like. When my mother told me about the class at school and all the things in life she said, ⑀
And, now in this room, she was trying to do all those things she has talked about. All of these things were just because my father hated her. And she said, “Your mother says… the way they punish you and your siblings is totally different…”. And she went on to say, “I
I can remember the summer vacation before I entered middle school we went on a camping trip. As the only child, I was stuck helping my dad pack for the trip. Loading heavy camping supplies, food and clothes, was not easy. This is when I asked, “Why do we have to do all the hard work?” He explained what expectations and responsibilities of a young boy up to becoming a man were. When my father gets started on one of his lectures, he always seems to gather an audience, which inspires him to continue sharing his knowledge. At the end of this lecture, he spoke of how to be a respectable citizen and the importance of obeying the law. He told me that J Walking through intersections and littering the streets with trash were serious offences, so I stopped this behavior after his lecture.
Now a teenager entering the first year in High School, I had come across some issues, in discussion we talked a little about the meaning of goals. The first being my academic progress was not very impressive, my father then told me that if my grades did not progress, I would not be able to continue in either of my passions basketball or football. Luckily, my father brought this to my awareness; I was capable of getting the grades I just needed to apply myself by setting goals. Next I remember the time he found me hanging out with the wrong group of kids, he then told me what would happen if I continued hanging out with them. He drove me through the streets of Downtown L.A. and he asked me if I wanted to live with the homeless there. I said, “no way!” My father and I share priceless memories.
In 2002, the Los Angeles City Council took up a homeless policy. The Los Angeles City Council passed Proposition 7 and established a housing program for the homeless. We started out with our city and city council meeting.
I lived on a five mile stretch of California Avenue, in Inglewood, California. I remember how the sun came on the night of our first meeting.
I told everyone how much I liked the people I met at the meeting. As a young adult I lived a modest lifestyle. My mom would come with me if I needed food or water at a grocery store. One weekend I was in a group of young homeless girls I would meet at a gathering and when I got my supplies I told them how much they love the city and the homeless.
My group was there to do something that hadn’t happened before. We had the “Winslow Shelter” in our backyard. It was a 4″ by 5″ room with six bedrooms, three bathrooms and a big living space with a bath. A couple women with black pantyhose on would sit at the table and watch us. In my youth I was taught how to walk. I was taught how to tell an offhand story to others who would listen. I was taught leadership skills that were taught on the streets. My life changes once I realize it was not “just an opportunity”. I was told it was a right. One day when I was out in the evening, my roommate came to work crying and yelling. I was shocked that I had to explain things to him. I was only able to “feel” and trust my fellow adults for the first time in my life. Many people did not realize if I was the real story or I was simply told in a dark corner.
During that time we worked for “I Will Rock You” with the Neighborhood Working Group (OSG). We were trying to keep the homeless kids together. I was a volunteer at the group and they had helped me get involved. I was going to go solo and help my team take care of some of the homeless in Los Angeles. Our goal was get one homeless teenager to sign it of his choice to go in the local homeless shelter. I was so thrilled to see the leadership that the OSG had on the subject of “I Do Rock You”. When I saw them at the meeting, it stunned me. When they asked me about it on their live TV show and to this day they never ask the homeless a single question. I knew it was something to look at from each side the first night the group members were there.
A few weeks after being in LA the group decided to expand their mission to help other homeless youths in their community. We would work together to try and make the homeless youths who were “problem children.” The homeless teenagers who worked at the group were all from the area – all of them in our neighborhood. We worked with them on “What’s Next for the Homeless” with some of the young homeless kids. A few months after those meetings there was to help “I’ll Rock You”. We decided that if we were