I wrote a speech for academic decathlon.
It's absolutely horrible.
It's forced and stupid, with loads of bullshit.
"I'm on Fire!" yelled the house.
There are some situations that a person believes will never happen to them; floods, car accidents, possibly forgetting to wear pants… Well let’s just say we should listen to the Boy Scouts and “be prepared.” I have, in fact, been in such a situation. Seven years ago I was awoken at three in the morning to my sister’s screams of “Wake up! Wake up! The house is on fire!” To be quite honest, I am not even close to being a morning person and I rolled right over and tried to go back to sleep. One way or another, my sister managed to coax me out of bed towards the back door and out of our enflamed house. I can clearly recall my mom on the phone in my dad’s study giving our address to emergency officials, but the situation never clicked. This was one of those once-in-a-life-time, I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening, what-the-hell-is-going-on, brain-dead-from-shock sort of moments.
To make things stranger, whilst standing outside shocked and confused, I had a sudden need for a jacket. Of all things I could have wanted. I wasn’t yearning to save my favorite childhood stuffed animal or my grandmother’s priceless necklace, I wanted a stupid jacket. Imagine this, my dad out in front of the house getting help from the neighbors, my mom attempting to slow the fire with a hose, my sister bawling her eyes out and the only thing I can think about is how freezing it is outside. So there I go without a second though, straight back into my burning home to retrieve my teal windbreaker. 20 feet to the left and I would have walked under a burning roof. Thankfully, my room was located on the other side of the house, so I veered right, snagged my jacket, and went back outside without the notice of any of my family. I can’t even begin to think about how lucky we all were on that night for my mom to have spontaneously awoken and noticed the fire. None of us were hurt even with my lack of conscious thought. It is in these moments that a person is thankful that they have what they have.
Although these sorts of situations are mind-blowing and incomprehensible as they occur, but sometimes they can be for the better. In the weeks following the fire, my family has never been so close. My parents wanted to make sure that my sister and I weren’t having a hard time and my sister and I didn’t want to upset our parents. Those weeks were the most calm I’ve ever seen in my family even with the upsetting circumstance. We have before never shared the same perspective to such a degree and although it wasn’t a particularly good point of view, it gave my family a connection that I will never forget.When my dad looks back on this event, he feels guilt because, although the fire was an accident, he believes he could have easily prevented it. When my mom looks back, she feels a bit of longing for all of the photographs and the memories we lost when everything charred black. As for me, I reminisce about the time in my life when my family was whole and functional even in the midst of a crisis.
So, as of 2001, April first will no longer be just a joke to my family.
