Personal Culture Essay
The famous American journalist Charles Kuralt once said, “The love of family and the admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege.” Family is the most important thing in our lives. What is family? Family is not necessarily confined to our blood relatives, but it extends to anyone whom we love dearly and would do anything for. Family is where one comes from; it is also where one is going. Family is everything.
On March fourth of 1930, a girl was born of the name Lila Rita Moritsen. It was a day like any other, nothing significant. However, it is that birth that completely changed my mother’s life, and therefore, mine as well. This girl was born into a loving family, and had a wonderful childhood. On her first day of school, however, she was frightened. She was a timid child, but it is that timidity that has helped her become strong and therefore helped her become the woman that she is today, 82 years later. As she recalls, “I was learning to do cursive writing. We didn’t learn to print back then. I was making L’s and there were tears dropping down my face, and the principal came and said, ‘What beautiful letters you’re making!’ It made me feel better, but I was so timid, my mother had to take me to school the whole first week.” School became easier, and she made many friends; many of them were boys. When it was time for her to begin courtship, she went on many dates. My grandmother was quite the heartbreaker! Until, of course, she met my grandfather, and after twelve years, she finally said yes. She was married to Merlin Leonhardt. They adopted two beautiful girls, Sandra and Kristy. Because of that, my mother met my father. Because of Lila Rita Leonhardt, I exist. Family is so very important.
Shaela Jones was born on August 6, 1972. Her parents gave her up, and she was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Merlin Leonhardt at the tender age of three. That was not a curse, as many would believe it – to be adopted can be very hard – but a blessing. Her kind new parents allowed her to change her name. “Pick any name you’d like,” they said, “as long as you stick to it.” And so, Shaela Jones became Kristy Marie Leonhardt. She was shy, pensive, and very creative as a girl. As she remarks about her childhood, “It was secure and I loved living in Southern California.” The Leonhardts moved to Logan when Kristy was still in elementary school. She loved “dancing, playing the piano, singing, drawing, making crafts, writing, and hanging out with friends.” She made it onto the Logan drill team, the Hi-Los, at Logan High School, which is where she first met an outgoing young boy named Brent Thomas. As she remembers, “We would get together, break up, get together, break up, and get back together again.” She was married when she was twenty, becoming Kristy Thomas. Their marriage lasted fifteen years, during which she had four children, myself included. She is my family, just as my grandmother is my family. Blood doesn’t matter. Family is everyone you love and would do anything for, whether actually related or not.
Let’s back up. The same year of my parents’ marriage, a little boy was born named Nicholas Frank Earl on August 24, 1992. He had very loving parents who worked hard to provide for him. He had an obsession with trucks (that still lingers to this day), and loved riding in the one his father drove. However, he was only the tender age of seven when tragedy struck the Earl family. Frank Earl, his father, passed away when the plane he was piloting had a fatal malfunction. The loss of a parent is hard on any child, and it was the same for young Nick. However, life goes on, and Nick’s mother was remarried to a man under the appellation of Kirk Merhish. Kirk was a football coach, and encouraged Nick to play football. Nick played football all the way through high school, and even in his first year of college at Weber State. While he was attending Weber State, he met a girl of the name Brianna Blaire Thomas. She was a junior at Hillcrest High School, the high school he had attended. They met through a friend at a party. Yes, I am that girl. Nick and I have been dating for over a year. I consider him my family. And maybe, just maybe, in five or ten years (or twenty, we’ll see how he does), we will make it official.
Back up again. Two years after my parents’ marriage, two years after Nick’s birth, and 65 years after my grandmother’s birth, I was born. A day like any other, nothing significant… Except, every birth is significant. I grew up in a wonderful home, with a loving mother and grandmother who have taught me so many things. I had a fun-filled childhood; we moved all over the country. We lived in Utah, Colorado, Georgia, and Boston. We moved back to Utah. As fate had it, I became a cheerleader at Hillcrest High School, the same school Nick had attended. When I met Nick at that party, I didn’t know it yet, but he would change my life as well.
These people have influenced my life in countless ways. That is what family does. Family guides us on the right path, supports us along the way, and no one would be the same without his or her family. Family needn’t be the people you have blood connections to, just the people you love and who love you. Family is the people who establish your personal culture; they are who define your past and your future. Family is everything.
On March fourth of 1930, a girl was born of the name Lila Rita Moritsen. It was a day like any other, nothing significant. However, it is that birth that completely changed my mother’s life, and therefore, mine as well. This girl was born into a loving family, and had a wonderful childhood. On her first day of school, however, she was frightened. She was a timid child, but it is that timidity that has helped her become strong and therefore helped her become the woman that she is today, 82 years later. As she recalls, “I was learning to do cursive writing. We didn’t learn to print back then. I was making L’s and there were tears dropping down my face, and the principal came and said, ‘What beautiful letters you’re making!’ It made me feel better, but I was so timid, my mother had to take me to school the whole first week.” School became easier, and she made many friends; many of them were boys. When it was time for her to begin courtship, she went on many dates. My grandmother was quite the heartbreaker! Until, of course, she met my grandfather, and after twelve years, she finally said yes. She was married to Merlin Leonhardt. They adopted two beautiful girls, Sandra and Kristy. Because of that, my mother met my father. Because of Lila Rita Leonhardt, I exist. Family is so very important.
Shaela Jones was born on August 6, 1972. Her parents gave her up, and she was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Merlin Leonhardt at the tender age of three. That was not a curse, as many would believe it – to be adopted can be very hard – but a blessing. Her kind new parents allowed her to change her name. “Pick any name you’d like,” they said, “as long as you stick to it.” And so, Shaela Jones became Kristy Marie Leonhardt. She was shy, pensive, and very creative as a girl. As she remarks about her childhood, “It was secure and I loved living in Southern California.” The Leonhardts moved to Logan when Kristy was still in elementary school. She loved “dancing, playing the piano, singing, drawing, making crafts, writing, and hanging out with friends.” She made it onto the Logan drill team, the Hi-Los, at Logan High School, which is where she first met an outgoing young boy named Brent Thomas. As she remembers, “We would get together, break up, get together, break up, and get back together again.” She was married when she was twenty, becoming Kristy Thomas. Their marriage lasted fifteen years, during which she had four children, myself included. She is my family, just as my grandmother is my family. Blood doesn’t matter. Family is everyone you love and would do anything for, whether actually related or not.
Let’s back up. The same year of my parents’ marriage, a little boy was born named Nicholas Frank Earl on August 24, 1992. He had very loving parents who worked hard to provide for him. He had an obsession with trucks (that still lingers to this day), and loved riding in the one his father drove. However, he was only the tender age of seven when tragedy struck the Earl family. Frank Earl, his father, passed away when the plane he was piloting had a fatal malfunction. The loss of a parent is hard on any child, and it was the same for young Nick. However, life goes on, and Nick’s mother was remarried to a man under the appellation of Kirk Merhish. Kirk was a football coach, and encouraged Nick to play football. Nick played football all the way through high school, and even in his first year of college at Weber State. While he was attending Weber State, he met a girl of the name Brianna Blaire Thomas. She was a junior at Hillcrest High School, the high school he had attended. They met through a friend at a party. Yes, I am that girl. Nick and I have been dating for over a year. I consider him my family. And maybe, just maybe, in five or ten years (or twenty, we’ll see how he does), we will make it official.
Back up again. Two years after my parents’ marriage, two years after Nick’s birth, and 65 years after my grandmother’s birth, I was born. A day like any other, nothing significant… Except, every birth is significant. I grew up in a wonderful home, with a loving mother and grandmother who have taught me so many things. I had a fun-filled childhood; we moved all over the country. We lived in Utah, Colorado, Georgia, and Boston. We moved back to Utah. As fate had it, I became a cheerleader at Hillcrest High School, the same school Nick had attended. When I met Nick at that party, I didn’t know it yet, but he would change my life as well.
These people have influenced my life in countless ways. That is what family does. Family guides us on the right path, supports us along the way, and no one would be the same without his or her family. Family needn’t be the people you have blood connections to, just the people you love and who love you. Family is the people who establish your personal culture; they are who define your past and your future. Family is everything.