Chapters Challenge: My Sweet 16

Hello! My name is Kristen Rose Ulrich. I am nearly 32 years old. The middle of my memoir was when I turned 16 years old. I fondly remember my sweet 16 party. I can easily say that it was one of the best nights of my life. Pictured above is a poem that my Uncle Andrew wrote for me in Italian. (I am 50% Italian on my mother’s side, and 25% German, and 25% Norwegian on my father’s side.)

Many life changing events have taken place since my sweet 16. I learned to drive, graduated college, and became a speech therapist. In addition, I am a published author both in books and Internet articles. However, I can’t help remember celebrating my birthday with many friends and relatives. I wrote candle speeches for my candle ceremony. I loved asking everyone to help me to get up to light my next candle. It was a really sweet night filled with dancing, food, and and fun!

This memoir is about to get a little more sad though. At this time in my life, I heavily tied my identity and self-worth to my accomplishments. One year later, I would go on to graduate number 10 out of 720 students in my class. Sadly, school was all that I ever really thought about.

Later, in my college years I struggled with severe depression because I had an incredibly difficult semester and felt that I wasn’t worth much. Now I know that I was wrong, and that I should have confidence. I wish I had I could tell 16-year-old me, that I would have a life filled with rich life-changing experiences. I wish I could tell her that there was more to life than school, and that she needed a little more, “Type B” in her personality.

Another thing I wish I could tell my sixteen-year-old self is to not care so much about what people think. Even though I am a feminist, and I am strong, I have let people ruin my day one too many times (especially men.)

This memoir is about to take yet another turn. If I could turn back time to that night, I would savor those moments with quite a few people there. This is because many of them are now deceased. This includes: my maternal grandparents who raised my younger brother and me while my parents were working, my other grandparents who were also wonderful, my Uncle Roy, my cousin John, and others.

If you have reached my age, you probably know the pain of losing a loved one. It is not pretty, and it is very scary and depressing. What seemed like a fairly straightforward night of dinner and dancing, was one of the better nights I have had with many people who I have loved and lost. In addition, those who are still here with me were in better health and spirits.

But let this not be a pity party. I have learned a lot in my young life. I have learned to: persevere, show self-love and unconditional love, and to trust the Universe. Even though I have had many bad days, I have learned that life isn’t always bad. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. God always has a plan, and nothing is a mistake or a coincidence.

My childhood was amazing, and now I am doing okay. But you are asking about the middle of my memoir right? I cherish that night so much. It was totally dedicated to celebrating me, and everyone was so sweet and polite.

As I progress into my thirties though, I want to think less about myself. I want to get married and start a family. I know that God will give me those things in Divine-right timing. For now I am thankful for the people in my life now, and the moments spent today. Today is all we have.