We all were immature and clueless before, then years flew by and now the majority of us are more independent. Everyone disembarks from a divergence family so not everything winds up the same for every child. We all have various rules and attitudes; however in the long run we all experience similar childhood events.

For me, I was raised by my grandparents up until I was nine years old. Since they were elderly, they were extra strict compared to the typical parents. They also arrived from Vietnam and almost all Vietnamese folks have extremely high expectations for their children/ grand children. My parents were constantly busy with work so I never really saw them around.

As the years passed by, I started becoming more independent and I knew exactly how to take care of everything by myself. Well at least I thought so! After a while, my parents gained trust in me and decided that I became mature enough to handle things on my own. Yay! They even game me permission to stay home alone... Score!!!

The first time I stayed at home by myself I left a massive mess on the dinner table, a couple of stains scattered here and there, oops, I didn’t mean to knock down my coca cola bottle... Oh and I left loads of plates and bowls in the sink. It was whatever, the mess didn’t bug me. I checked the time; it was almost 8:30 at night. I tucked myself in bed, ignoring the pigsty I have created.

Of course, I wake up the nest morning to the screaming sound of my mom’s voice. Louder and louder, it’s getting closer. Oh my gosh, this is annoying. Finally, my mom has approached my bedroom door. Not only is she yelling, she’s holding a long piece of paper. I took a quick glance at it. “Sally’s chores?!” my voice squeaked as I was getting furious. “I thought you could handle the house to yourself just for the day, but I guess not. This is what you have to do for one whole week if you can prove to me that you’re responsible, you can stay home alone again.” Holy cow, her voice was more serious than ever! I am so shocked; I honestly didn’t think it was that big of a deal. “Okay, mother.” The way I said that was almost unnecessary. Oh no, I shouldn’t have been so bratty! My mom acted like she didn’t hear me, shoved the things to do list and said, “Alright, do some work girl!”

Yup, it’s been a whole week. Ive had done everything on the stupid list. Washing the dishes, vacuuming the living room floor, sweeping the kitchen floor, doing laundry, dusting the TV and all the other non sense my mom listed. Every day, she inspected my work and rewarded me with a gold star sticker. When I had 10 stars, she’d give me $20 for my terrific work. She has gained trust in me again. Awesome! Later on at night, my mom tip toed into my room and congratulated me on my great work effort. “Sally, I’m so proud of you. You’ve grown up so much! You’re going to grow up to be a very successful woman! Have fun at home alone tomorrow!” she gave me a kiss on the forehead and left my room.

Instead of leaving my crumbs and spills on the table, I wiped down everything with a warm wet cloth. All of the coke stains on our carpet were gone. Mommy taught me how to use the soap vacuum! There were absolutely no dirty dishes. All the cleaning up got me so exhausted. It was finally my bed time. I hopped into bed and fell asleep instantly.

Just making one mistake was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Getting scowled at by mom made me become more responsible. It may seem weird, but ever since the lecture I got from my mommy, I’ve wanted to clean and cook more often. Seeing my mom so happy gave me more motivation to keep up the good work. From there on out, I’ve been staying home alone, a lot! Learning how to keep everything tidy has made me become more independent overall!