I sat there looking at my mother lifting her bottle that contained a substance I was not yet old enough to comprehend, while she attempted to get me to do my school work. When you're a kindergartener, you know it's brutal trying to do homework late at night when you would rather be doing anything but.
“Mommy, I don't want to do my work, I just don't understand it."
As I sat there crying at the computer in the dining room, she looked at me, through the darkness, from her place on the decrepit, red leather couch while the television was at maximum volume with music playing.
“You need to do your work. I’m not letting you miss any more days of school.”
It wasn’t my fault that I didn’t go to school. Both she and my dad would neglect my siblings and me most days and would only “remember” that I had to go to school just so they would not get caught for what was happening inside of the house. But let’s be real. There's no way out of getting abused both physically and mentally when it is happening in your own home.
And what about the night I got taken away, you might ask? Well, quite honestly, if you really think about it, your life has the ability to change within a matter of seconds.
“Open up, it's the police!”
I sat there as the door opened and watched my father’s best friend get arrested for obtaining illegal substances whilst my mother’s best friend helped pack a change of clothes for us. At the same moment, I watched important people rush around the apartment taking things and placing them into plastic bags. Once I stepped outside, I took a look back at the dangerous place I had always called home and watched as the sky darkened, reflecting the mood of the situation I was in. I then got into a black car with my sister and a caseworker. As it started raining, I felt a sudden surge of fear because I knew there was a high probability that I would be getting taken away from the only family I have ever known. The memory of that night will be the most permanent carving etched into my brain that continues to shape my life today. It may not define me but it's still a part of me.
Having that be my experience shows that life isn't always fair for some, for me it wasn't. I had a life that was once horrible and had it flipped upside down. I have to carve my own path. Making decisions that helped me realize how lucky I am being adopted, helping me find my place while having people that actually care about me come into my life. While doing things that truly make me happy. That feeling of being whole while put into a new environment where I have endless possibilities helped me today. My past is a part of me but I move forward creating my own story.
Today I run the North Penn Rainbow Alliance as the President for the second year in a row, but have also been involved with the club for six years since the middle school's club then transitioned to the high school. Along with being a part of Link Crew by helping the incoming sophomores to feel welcome to the high school. When I grow up I want to be an author writing all types of literature & touch on diversity. My experiences show we all have what it takes. Other people don't get to define us.
We define ourselves in the stories we decide to tell.
Bobby Dougherty is a senior. He has been writing since he was little, but realized it was a challenge to write as it was a difficult task at times. Ninth grade helped him blossom his talents as he wanted to test his imagination. As a member of the class of 2023 he will graduate and go off to hopefully become an author.