Golden+Shovel+Narrative

Shelby Cook Bell 2 My name is Mea Anderson. 20 years ago I was 19 years old, living in Cincinnati Ohio. Before my whole situation, you would think I had the perfect life. Maybe because I have two successful working parents who get me what ever I need. In return they ask for respect, responsibility and for my academics to come first before any free time. My father was a lawyer and my mother was a wedding planner, so we had a nice lifestyle. I had six best friends. Their names were Ashley, Bria, Taylor, Lyssa, Jesse and Mia. My senior year of high school was going great until I messed up. I had a 3.87 GPA, I played volleyball, I was very close to getting accepted to Spellman and to top it all off I had the perfect boyfriend, or so I thought. I am now 39, and as I look back 20 years ago I can say I was pretty foolish. I had my whole future planned out. I was going to go to Spellman and work to be a lawyer just like my dad. I wasn't really thinking about children and marriage yet, until my boyfriend Jesse began talking about it. So here I was blinded by the good looking, "star player" of the basketball team. One day after his game he had said, "I'll always be with you," and about 4 weeks later I found out I was pregnant. This was the most stressful time for me. Breaking the news to my parents and to Jesse was just hard to think about. When I told them they had the typical reaction. My parents were furious and Jesse act like it was no big deal. All he cared about was playing college ball at UCLA. After my parents knew that they couldn’t change the situation, they began thinking about how they could help me. Since my mother didn’t believe in abortion I had no choice but to forget about Spellman and leave my dreams behind. All I could think about was my mother’s words. She said, “Now Mea, you had so much going for yourself, how could you mess that up.” Then I said, “I can fix this.” My mother said, “You were always so determined, but now it’s time for you to grow up and take advantage of your life,” and so I did. After I had my son Travis, who was my everything, I began thinking about our future. I wanted to go back to college and become a lawyer like I planned. I am so grateful I have parents that really care and supportive friends. Although I didn’t go to Spellman, my parents paid for all my fees at the University of Cincinnati. I worked towards becoming a lawyer and 7 years later I became one. My parents were happily retired at this point and my son was growing up so fast. I had a nice house for just Travis and I. Jesse wanted to be in Travis’s life and I didn’t want him to grow up without a father so I let Jesse get Travis every other weekend. I was living my dream and all I wanted was that when Travis grew up, he would have a smoother road to his future. My best friends Ashley, Lyssa, Taylor, Bria and Mia are still close to me. Ashley and Mia moved to New York because they were in the fashion industry. Lyssa, Taylor and Bria are all successfully living in Cincinnati. Although Jesse is no longer my best friend, he works at a construction company. Every once in a while Taylor, Lyssa, Bria, Ashley and I get together at a different places we grew up at. We all are close and have a strong relationship with eachother.