Glittery Essay, Research Paper

The divorce of my parents on my fourteenth

birthday… The death of my grandmother, my closest

relative… When these tragedies occurred, I acted as

though nothing was wrong, like that was how it was

supposed to be. During our countries “Gilded Age”, the

immigrants who came from all across the seas, thought

the United States was perfect. As we and many others

have learned, the proverb, “All that glitters is not gold”

holds true in many circumstances.

It was my fourteenth birthday; my dad had just come

home from being in Kansas. For my birthday he bought

me a fourteen-carat gold necklace and a T-shirt with a

dog on it. After my family ate dinner and dessert, my

mom and dad despersed to their bedroom. The house was

silent. I went into their bedroom to see what they were

doing. I always did. I asked what was up and my dad

with tears in his eyes told me my mother wanted a divorce

from him. My heart shattered. I said “Oh,” and

disappeared into m bedoom. In the dark abyss of

loneliness, I cried. The next day and all through their

divorce my parents would ask how I felt. All I would say

was, “Fine,” and walk away. I was far from being fine.

“I can not wait until we get there,” an Irish woman

once said to her husband on their way to America. A few

months later the woman states that she wishes she could

go back to “the old country.” The woman thought they

would come into instant wealth and live in a glorious

country. Alas, it was not to happen. America was going

through some tough times. There were not enough jobs to

supply for all the incoming immigrants. There was not

enough wealth circulating for the amount of people in the

United States. America was glorified, but on the inside it

was as bad off as some of the overseas countries.

My closest relative; my confidant; my grandmother

was on her deathbed. My father was going to be with her

in her final hours and offered my brother and me to come

along to say goodbye. Since goodbye meant forever, I

thought that if I did not say it, then she might not die. I

stayed at my friend’s house that night. The next morning,

at eight o’clock, my mother came to pick me up. I met her

in the driveway. On her face was a smile, she was glad to

see her daughter. When we were on the way home, she

told me that at 5:35 AM that morning my grandmother

drew her last pained gasp of air and passed away. She

did not cry when she told me this, the tears were streaming

on the inside. Ever since then I have bottled up my

emotions and put on a facade of happiness.

I have learned through history lessons and life that

this proverb is true in all cases. Though, something may

be shining on the outside it may be dingy or depressed on

the inside. All that glitters is not gold.