Thursday Night's Essay

I never knew you could choose a family until Thursday night dinners were introduced in our house. I just always assumed the only people you could get that close to were the ones you were born with, but I realized that you can form those kinds of relationships with anyone you really click with. I think that was the key to how we all had so much fun together, we just all clicked in some way. We really were like one big group of brothers and sisters. And we were open to inviting anyone and everyone to join us when we hung out. People would pass me in the hallways and ask, “Thursdays this week?” Everyone looked forward to it, whether it was for free home cooked meals or for the sense of family they didn’t get on a normal basis, or even just to chill with an awesome group of people.

We started with just a few people and in a few months we had a record of 24 people in one sitting at dinner. As the amounts of people changed the traditions stayed the same. Every week we’d sit around and have Mario Kart tournaments on the game cube. It was amazing how with enough people, one game can never get boring. We usually spent some time outside, that many people in one basement can get a little crammed. I remember when we all piled into everyone’s cars and drove to the rope swing after dinner one summer evening. We had to help one girl Stacy duct tape her driver’s side car door back on before she could give us a ride. It would’ve been a pain in the butt, but we just all laughed together and eventually got it to work.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget the millions of memories we made those many Thursdays. The group has sort of drifted now, but we’ll always remain a family.

What I Want to be When I Grow Up

"What do you want to be when you grow up Abby?" I've been asked this question for as long as I can remember, and for as long as I can remember I've never had a definite answer. I started out like almost any little girl does by wanting to be a vet. As i got older though I realized that vets have the responsibility of not only helping animals, but of dealing with the ones they can't save. After seeing my cat get put down my mind was changed as I knew I would never have the strength to do that.

One of my favorite movies in about sixth or seventh grade was Rat Race. One of the main characters in it was a female helicopter pilot and after watching it multiple times the idea was embedded in my brain. I wanted to fly helicopters. I had my mind set on this goal for a year or two, but had no idea how to reach it. Eventually I just forgot all about it and moved on to other things.

I went through several ideas of what I aspired to be when I grow up throughout my middle school years and none of them were at all right for me. When I got into high school I felt more pressure on making a decision. People were talking about colleges and their life plans. I still had no idea what I wanted to be in life, how on Earth was I supposed to choose a college? I thought about being an artist, maybe a photographer, but I had no faith in myself in going to art school. I became a vegetarian at the end of freshman year and started thinking of all the exciting meat-less foods I could cook. That was when I got the idea to open my own vegetarian restaurant. Art and cooking have since then been my main two focuses, although I wouldn't be surprised if that changed. I realized recently though that what I want most in life is to help others. I don't want or need to be an icon in history like Gandhi or Che Guevara, but it would be nice to make a difference in someones life. Now I hope to someday open my own soup kitchen/food pantry to help those in need of food. I know I will probably never have excessive amounts of money, but as long as I have enough in life to help others, I'll be happy.

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