Blog #9: Diary of a Girl Becoming a Woman

In an adolescent novel created in the form that Alexie lays out for us, I would tackle the issue of growing up with a mentally ill mother and an abusive boyfriend. My introduction would tell about my parents: how my father works so hard and my mother is unstable at best. We struggled but we were loved. My saving grace, much like Junior’s cartoons are his, was theatre. I loved it and was good at it, giving me a way to stay busy and out of the house while staying out of trouble. My conflict is when I met my boyfriend, who I would date for five years, Sam. He was awful to me: controlling, abusive, and over-concerned with putting me down to keep me in my place. There are many little events that would make great chapters depicting the challenges I dealt with while dating him. Much like Arnold tells his “rules” and how he doesn’t understand why the Reardon kids don’t follow them, I felt that way with Sam. I didn’t understand the new rules of dating him and could not align my experiences with his, despite trying for years. The adult most important to my ability to make better decisions and get out of the relationship was my teacher and dear friend, Wendy. She was so important in guiding me to value myself. I know now that she probably saved my life.
I rebelled a lot against Sam’s rules and that usually just got me in more trouble. But I think including some of those choices and their repercussions would add a lot to my story. I think I would end with the day I started my sophomore year in college which is when I really knew I was free. I finally understood that I did not need to rebel in order to feel good. I could just be me, but first, I had to figure out who that was.
Becca