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Family:
A Powerful Force
By Ashley Jolley
Edison State Composition 1 student
The cohesive unit of a family to Chelsea Coffee is more important than
any one person in her life. Yes, there are many people who have
influenced her greatly over the course of her life, but the overall
family dynamic is what really has influenced her the most. “I mean,
yes. There are a few individuals who have personally had an impact on
my life, but when I really think about it, it’s the entire family
dynamic that has had the biggest influence on me.”
Chelsea Coffee, 26 years old, graduated from Pennsylvania State
University in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in social studies teacher
education. Directly after graduation, she was granted employment at
Olentangy High School in Columbus, Ohio as a 10th grade civics teacher.
Chelsea takes great interest in sports and politics, as well as
travel. She is proud of her accomplishments and reveals that she
would not be where she is today if it wasn’t for a certain handful of
people in her life.
The most influential person in Chelsea’s life is her mother, Ginny
Coffee. For all her life, Chelsea has always been a mom’s girl.
As far back as she can remember, she has always wanted to be with her
mom, be like her mom, or be around her mom, and that has overwhelmingly
shaped her into the person that she is today. She recalls a time when
she was little where she remembers just sitting on her mom’s bed
watching her get ready, and wanting to be just like her and do
everything as she did. Ginny is the nicest, most encouraging woman that
Chelsea has ever known; everyone who meets her is immediately drawn to
her. “She could make a friend talking to a trashcan”, Chelsea added as
she began to laugh. Her whole life, she has greatly looked up to her
mother and wants to be just like her. The two also have a lot of the
same characteristics. “We sound the same and look the same. I’ve just
always really admired her, and I think the person that I am today is
largely based around the woman who raised me.”
The realization that Ginny was a very important figure in Chelsea’s
life came to her at a very young age. She would get bizarre panic
attacks whenever her mom would leave her, starting in the 5th grade.
“It was one of the first days of school; she dropped my sister and I
off and then went to work. I was like oh my gosh why is mom not here?
It was so strange and lasted for like two months.” This was the point
in her life when she realized how important her mother was to her.
Anytime in junior high, high school, college, or even now, when she is
having a rough day, her mom is the one that she calls. “She is the
first person that I want to tell good news to, bad news to, or vent
to.” In any situation, Ginny knows exactly what to say to make Chelsea
feel better and encourages her to move beyond things that may seem
horrible.
Without her mother in her life, Chelsea would have no idea where she
would be today. She questions whether or not she would be as outgoing
or personable. “Literally, the person I am today is a direct result of
my mom.” Chelsea is known for her outgoing personality, and this makes
her a wonderful teacher, according to her students. She also
doesn’t know if she would have the same career because her mom is a
teacher and that influenced Chelsea to become one as well. Over the
course of Chelsea’s life, her mom has perfectly exemplified what it is
to be a caring human being. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you
look like, everyone deserves to be treated like they’re important. “I
think that has really influenced me as not only a human being, but also
as a teacher. I really try to take that into consideration in my room.”
Ginny has all the character traits that your teachers always tell
students to have. “She’s loving, she’s kind, she’s funny, and she’s
respectful. She just exemplifies the best type of person.”
In addition to her mother, Chelsea has another very influential person
in her life. Her sister, Abby, is someone who she’s always looked up
to. “It’s like the women in my life have made me the woman that I am.”
Chelsea describes Abby has a firecracker. “People think I’m loud, but
that girl is a firecracker.” Chelsea started to realize how important
Abby was to her at a young age as well. Events that she didn’t notice
while growing up but could be seen in pictures were things like her
always following Abby around, giving her food, or always wanting to
play with her. In 1st or 2nd grade was when she really started to
realize it. The girls would walk to and from school every day and
Chelsea would find herself attempting to do things as Abby would, like
trying to dress and act like her. “I’ve obviously become my own person,
but a lot of that also revolves around watching her grow up and seeing
the things that she did and learning from her success and mistakes.”
“Abby and my mom are so similar, it’s crazy.” Ginny could make a friend
while talking to a trashcan; According to Chelsea, Abby is the same
exact way. They’re both outgoing, they’re both kind, and they’re both
very involved with politics, which is something that Chelsea says has
also greatly influenced her. “Both of them are also very politically
active which has also had a very big influence on me, clearly, I mean I
teach government all day long.” They have many similarities but they
also differ in some aspects. Abby is more outspoken than Ginny is.
She’s not afraid to say things that might offend people. If somebody
says something that she thinks is offensive, then she’s very quick to
jump on them. Ginny would pull herself away from a situation that might
lead to conflict. “Abby welcomes conflict in her life.”
What makes Ginny more influential in Chelsea’s life is the fact that
she is always around and willing to talk. Abby currently lives in New
York City, and after she graduated college she backpacked Europe,
Southeast Asia, and then lived in Australia, so she hasn’t been around
as much. “We FaceTime all the time, but my mom is just always there and
there are certain things that you just need someone to sit down and
talk to.” Doing this is much different than video chatting someone to
talk about your issues. Ginny is also older and has experienced more of
life than Abby has. She is a teacher like Chelsea so that’s something
she can give good advice about. It’s not something that Abby can
necessarily relate to.
Many life lessons have been taught from the two of these people. Abby
has taught her sister that you truly need to live life to the fullest.
“She’s not preoccupied with the norms of society”. Once she graduated
from the University of Pittsburg, she decided that she was not ready to
get a normal job. She wanted to travel so she made it happen and that’s
what she’s been doing ever since. She’s not afraid to live life to the
fullest. “People are so bogged down with what they’re ‘supposed to do’
in life and Abby is just care free. That’s very inspiring because I
tend to get caught up in what I’m supposed to be doing and what my life
is supposed to look like.” While talking about her sister, Chelsea
started to become a bit emotional. “My sister and I just have such a
strong bond, and not being able to see her as much as I would like to
really makes me sad. We used to be inseparable.” Chelsea’s mood
began to rise when she started to talk about her mother again. The
biggest life lesson that her mother has taught her is that you have to
be appreciative of all different kinds of people. She proudly
added, “She’s gay, and I think that I’m much more open to difference
than a lot of people are because of her and because of how accepting
she is of everyone regardless and I think that is very important.”
Chelsea’s likes and dislikes have been influenced by both of these
people as well. All of them think politically in the same way, which is
partly because her mother was not afraid to talk about politics when
they were growing up. As she began to smile, “Politics are
something we get excited to talk about. We may not always agree with
little things, but when looking at the big picture we definitely are
all on the same page.” Abby has also influenced her liking of sports.
Sports that Abby did growing up, Chelsea wanted to do as well. Abby
played volleyball growing up, and Chelsea followed in her footsteps. “I
love volleyball. I play volleyball, I coach volleyball, and I do that
because Abby did it first.” In addition, anything that her mom likes,
Chelsea tends to be a fan of. “I think that just comes as a part of
growing up with a person.”
There are two other people who Chelsea says have influenced her. These
people are her dad, Mark, and her mom’s partner, Susan. Susan has been
a part of her life ever since she was seven, and is also massively
influential. “We have a very functional, dysfunctional family. You
would think that oh, your parents got divorced, your mom’s gay, but we
all just function great together. My dad and Susan get along
wonderfully.” Mark even goes on family vacations with the girls.
Chelsea goes on to say that the family dynamic as a whole has
influenced her more than any one individual has. When talking
about her family, Chelsea once again starts to become emotional. “I
just don’t know what I would do without my family. When I really step
back and look at it like this, I realize how much they’ve done for me
over the years and I can’t thank them enough for everything.” Her
mom and Susan have been together since she was in the first grade and
her dad has been a part of it since they got together. “My immediate
family is just a huge part of the way that I am.” Family to her has
been, and always will be very important; she accredits all of her
success to them and would be nowhere near the person she is today
without them.
Editor’s
Note: Edison State Darke County Composition students were required to
do an interview with someone who was important in their lives. This
essay was one of four assigned in the course, with this student’s
submission chosen for its narrative quality and insight during the
interview.
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