Coming of Age Critique Draft

"Kristen, wake up! C'mon Kris we're leaving soon!"

It was a Friday night and as I woke from my nap, I saw my mom's face and realized she was still shaking me. I shook her off and looked through the window. People were walking in and out of the airport doors. Soon, my parents will be one of those people. I stepped out of the car and pulled out one of the small luggage bags. After a couple minutes, we finish unloading all the bags. It was time to go. As I hugged my mom and dad, my mom said, "Kris, make sure you keep the house clean and make sure you watch your brothers." Hearing that made me laugh a bit because me being the youngest, my mom still wanted me to watch my older brothers. "Bye mom! Bye dad! I love you!" my brother and I yelled as we watched our parents walk through the doors. I hopped back into the car after the security guy told us we had to leave. It was at that moment, sitting in the car on our way back to Mililani, when I first realized that this would be the longest time without my parents at home.

Two weeks. Two whole weeks was how long my parents' trip was. Only a few days past and already the house was getting messy. "No wonder my mom told me to clean the house and watch my brothers," I thought to myself. As I walked into the kitchen, cups, plates, and eating utensils were being piled up in the sink. Cans and bottles were also sitting on the counter waiting to be rinsed and sorted out. My brothers were working and I knew they wouldn't clean up even if I told them to so I went to the sink and got started. After splashing soap and water all over my shirt and kitchen counter, I finally finished with the dishes. My legs were getting tired from standing up to wash dishes for so long but I knew I wasn't done. I grabbed the bottles and cans and held them under the faucet to rinse them. Then I put the bottles in the bin labeled "bottles" and the cans in the bin labeled "cans". Finally, I was done with kitchen chores!

After all that kitchen work, I ran up the stairs and turned to my right. I grabbed all my dirty clothes and walked out my room. Like the dishes, my clothes were starting to pile up in the hamper. Holding my basket of clothes, I walked back to the garage and threw my clothes into the washer. It was my first time washing my own clothes. Since I had no clue what to do, I called up my mom for some help. "Fill the Tide soap up till it reaches the line. Then press delicate and cold/cold on the washing machine. Then hold down the start button till you hear a click," instructed my mom. After doing what my mom said, I went back into the house.

I walked across the room and plopped myself on the couch. My eyes started to close as I thought, "I wouldn't be this tired if my brothers cleaned up after themselves." I knew I wasn't really asleep, I was just resting my eyes. I knew I was awake because I was still aware of the washing machine making loud noises, the clock ticking and the birds singing outside. But I didn't pay attention to the noise, I was deep in thought...

Only a few days passed and I already had lots of chores to do. No doubt it was a long two weeks living with my brothers. I didn't mind though. I realized that some point in my life, I have to stop my bad habits of being sloppy and lazy (like my two brothers). I was becoming more responsible and more independent. I was finally taking initiative in becoming a young adult. The two weeks that my parents were gone were the days when I got a taste of how it might be when living on my own. Someday, I know I will be ready to live on my own.