Independent Writing Project

Coming of Age

My dad has always affected the way I grew up. He made me stronger. He made me stand up to people. He made me be determine who were my real friends and who weren’t. He did it without knowing.

My dad had scars all over his face. Every time he picked me up from school as a child, everyone would always look at him. Some people would laugh, some would just look at him with a horrified expression. I wouldn’t get embarrassed at all. I would get angry. People would make fun of me for having a dad that ‘had a funny face.’ At first, I would feel pathetic. I soon got enough of it and would just explode. Every time someone would talk about my dad like that I would just start screaming and talk about their parents. Some of my friends would actually make fun of him saying he looked like Freddy Krueger, I’d tell them to shut up and basically just leave them. That just showed me the type of friends they were. As a kid I learned how to react to people’s insults. I was strong enough to stand up for myself. Some people don’t though. My father gave me that strength I needed for the future, and without even knowing it.

My dad got the scars due to an allergic reaction. As a child, my dad would bleed from his nose allot. His mother wanted to do something about it so she contacted a doctor and told him about it. The doctor prescribed some kind of cream for him. She placed the cream on his nose, but she didn’t know my dad was allergic to it. the cream worked but my dad would scratch his facial area uncontrollably. Then the doctor prescribed a different cream for his itch. That scream just made things worse. My dad would scratch his face more, and his mother would just place more cream. Eventually scars formed.

Soundtrack On Coming of Age

Demons by Imagine Dragons

Halcyon by Ellie Goulding

Airplanes by B.o.B.

Hanging On by Ellie Goulding

Crawling by Linkin Park

Stained Glass Eyes and Colorful Tears by Pierce the Veil

So Far Away by Charli XCX

King for a Day by Pierce the Veil

Teen Idle by Marina and The Diamonds

Rusty by Tyler, The Creator

Obsessions by Marina and The Diamonds

Lego House by Ed Sheeran

Stay Away by Charlie XCX

Runaway by Linkin Park

I Hate This Part by The Pussycat Dolls

Take My Hand by Charli XCX

Joy by Ellie Goulding

Your Bones by Of Monsters and Men

A Place For My Head by Linkin Park

How Can I by Charli XCX

IFHY by Tyler, The Creator

Set Me Free by Charli XCX

I chose these specific songs because each one revolves around the idea of pain and regret, which is part of coming of age.