The voices of my family are like the tides of the ocean, always changing and sometimes surprising. A group of puppies, sometimes playful yet vicious every once in awhile. At the dinner table is where it all comes out. My mom always speaks soft, as a librarian would. The stress of raising five kids may yank at her hair, but she always keeps it under control. When the little ones are crafting Picasso’s with their food, the volume rises but the warmth is still sitting behind the angry eyes. My dad's voice ranges from a mouse sneaking around a kitchen and a jackhammer pounding on the sidewalk. His mouth opens and it won’t shut, because he sees himself as a professor in every area. My older brother, silent unless spoken to, does his own thing. When he’s powerlifting though, he’s a bull horn with the button taped down. My older sister on the other hand, is loud ALL the time. There is no inside voice for her, no restriction on the volume knob in the car. My little brother is similar to me, in a sense that we both know how to keep our mouths shut in certain situations. Finally, my little sister is a broken record, somehow always finding something to talk about. Even the trees around her will plug their ears if she’s there for too long. It’s always a shot in the dark on what the mix of voices will sounds like, but what else can you expect from a family like mine?