Life Is Not About Discovering Yourself but Molding Yourself - Personal Essay Example

My father has always been my mentor through ever since I have been a child. I am the only child, and my father is a single parent. He has always had a hard time balancing between parenting and work since he is the breadwinner in the family. Being a single parent, he had to work extra hard to ensure I did not lack virtually anything that I required.

My dad has always been a religious and very principled man, and he tried in every possible way to instill his virtues in me. My dads mantra in life was your future is in your hands. He would constantly tell me that I can only show you the trajectory to success but the path is yours to walk.

As a child, I would heed everything that my dad would tell me because I have always respected him not only as a parent but as an older person. All of his teachings did not sink into my head until I sneaked into a friends party without his consent when I realized that it was the time that I take charge of my life. Things could not continue going in the same direction if I was interested in a more meaningful and successful future.

I can vividly recall my friend had a birthday party at his place. I went to my dad and asked him for the permission to attend the party. My dad was very reluctant, and according to him, it was a waste of time hanging out with these people especially because the party was at night.

My dad did not always like the friends that I used to hang out with, and at that moment it did not make sense to me because in my eyes I saw my schoolmates. My friends were always popular in school and hanging out with them was always advantageous because then it meant that you would get to be popular. I did not emphatically comprehend why my father did not like them, but inside I said that he was just paranoid since I am a little girl.

This party was like the celebration of the year, and everyone was talking about it and how big and lavish it would be. As a student missing the party would be like committing a crime, and I would have been the laughing stalk in school. So, I connived with a few of my friends to sneak me out of the house when my dad was asleep.

Everything in the party went on pretty well until about two hours into the party when the police stormed the venue. I did not comprehend what was happening at the moment because everything was happening quite fast. Everyone in the party was apprehended and taken to the police station. The police enlightened us that the place was a depository for drugs afterward. My father came to me in the morning. I was released because I was found to be innocent of the charges.

I was very abashed with the whole situation, and I lacked words to explain just how sorry I was for letting him down. My father punished me by grounding me for two weeks, but the most important lesson I learned is that chasing after short-lived happiness is misleading. I had to find a purpose in life and live more responsibly.