Heres the Narrative Essay I wrote. Statement of the butterfly A single statement brought me to realize I needed to change my life. “Mommy, I want to be just like you” was the statement and it was made by a 5 year old little girl. She is my little girl. This statement was made during the discussion of a beautiful butterfly, a butterfly that I will never forget. I remember that moment like it was yesterday even though it has been well over a year. My daughter and I were sitting on a hammock, our legs hanging parallel to each other over the side, with the grass tickling our bare feet. I was working two jobs at the time and I had finally managed to get a day off from both so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful day we were having in early May. We spent the late morning hours outdoors taking in all of the fresh scents of budding flowers, grass and earth that Mother Nature blesses us with in the spring. We were in a state of pure tranquility while lying in the hammock underneath those big oak trees with the bright blue sky peaking behind their branches. We were appreciating our environment and the presence of each other when a beautiful black and orange Monarch butterfly fluttered by in front of us. It danced in the air as if it had just broke free of its cocoon and was showing off its brand new glorious wings then drifted angelically to the top of a dandelion about eight feet in front of us. “Wow mommy! Look how pretty that butterfly is!” my daughter said with clear appreciation of the insect in her voice. “Ava,” I said as I put my arm around her and pulled her close to me. “Do you know what that pretty butterfly started out to be?” I asked her, our eyes still gazing at this majestic Nymphalid resting on the dandelion. “A caterpillar, but man those things are uuugggglllyyyy!” she replied with her little nose and lips curled up like she had just caught whiff of a skunk. I giggled a little and squeezed her a little closer to me. “That little caterpillar dreamt of becoming a butterfly so he did,” I said to her. Her eyes locked onto mine and I had her full attention. In my mind I was about to teach her a lesson in life in a metaphoric fashion. I was not expecting to learn a lesson as well but unconsciously she was going to teach me a big one. “Doesn’t it seem impossible for a little worm with legs to turn into something with big beautiful wings?” I asked her. “Anything is possible if you do not let anything get in the way of following your dreams honey. That butterfly is an example.” She looked up at me with her big green eyes full of curiosity. I could see the wheels spinning behind them. “You can do anything you dream of.” I said to her. “So the butterfly was a little caterpillar who dreamt of becoming a big, black and orange butterfly?” she asked me. “Yes,” I replied, “so, with hard work and courage, he did.” I gave her a kiss on the forehead and she wrapped her little arms around my neck. “Mommy, I want to be just like you,” she told me. “You are a beautiful butterfly.” I smiled inside and out. ”Ava-Bug,” I said, running my fingers through her baby soft hair, “You were born a butterfly.” Time stood still. That was the moment I decided that I had to make a change. My daughter wanted to be just like me but I wanted my children to be greater than I was. I needed to give them a better example to strive for. At that moment I reflected back on my life. It had been hard enough getting to the point in life we were at on that beautiful day in May.This journey called life takes a detour around every Easy Street it comes across. It seemed my life preferred the streets with the most pot holes at times. I had worked hard over coming a lot of obstacles leading up to the point of life I was in that day, ending a long relationship with my children’s father, moving away from my home state and raising two young children on my own to name a few. Finally, I was at a point where I was a little more stable and a little less stressed so I was content after all that we had been through. I was scared of any type of change for the fear of what other obstacles might come along with it. Any type of goal setting was on the back burner. But a butterfly sparked a life changing conversation on that beautiful day in May. Anyways, there I sat on the hammock after the conversation with my daughter, silently thinking to myself, was working two jobs seventeen to eighteen hours a day showing my children what to be content with in life? Is being scared of some bumps in the road of accomplishing my dreams showing them that they can overcome anything? What steps was I taking to show them how to become a butterfly? I am their leader. They follow and study me closely. What was I truly teaching them? When my daughter made the statement that she wanted to be just like me I had instantly thought back to our previous conversation about the butterfly and I felt like a hipocrit. Here I was telling her to chase her dreams while being too afraid to chase my own. I knew I had it in me to be more than two dead end jobs and I had to show them they had the capabilities to be greater than that also. What better way to teach my children that they could accomplish anything, no matter the size of the obstacle, than to show them? That day I decided it was time for greater goals. I had to change my life if I wanted to take pride in my children looking up to me. The cocoon of fear had to go. I was going to be a butterfly. I decided I was no longer going to work seventeen to eighteen hours a day at a dead end job but instead I was going to go to school to expand my knowledge and become great in a promising career but most importantly, an excellent role model for two people that I love dearly. I dream of my children following in my footsteps with their heads held high. I pray that I can give them confidence in their ability to reach their goals. I hope they will understand that your obstacles do not have to define you. I know that I am still not walking down Easy Street and I probably never will, but I am paving a smoother road for the two little ones who are following behind me on this journey. Now a days when I am faced with times of fear or doubt they seem to go as easy as they come after a short reflection on how my life was changed by a statement and a butterfly. By: Shannon Salada
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 22:55:22 +0000
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