English Paper Farmer Girl

Summary and Personal Response

ENG

February 8, 2012

Farmer Girl

Jessica Hemauer. Farmer Girl . The McGraw-Hill Guide 2nd Edition/2011

The Idea of the story I read was to show how everyday living molds us into the very people we are going. The writer explained how she was raised in a place where time management was a key , between the farm chores , house chores, and school, She taught her self to manage her time and allowed her to accomplish whatever she set out to do. In the story the author shows you how she was different from other typical children and peers.

In the story the author spoke on how she had to wake up at five o'clock in the morning at the age of 10, and how this custom was not practice among her peers but she woke up at that time to chores she needed to do. Even though she didn't like waking up that early she knew it was mandatory, her father will walk in her bedroom to be sure she was up. When she got out of bed she would head down the hall to the bathroom to meet her already woken siblings Nick , Angie and Malissa, they were in the bathroom proceeding with the daily routine. After she left the bathroom the four of them would head down to the basement to the putrid aroma of the cows and the damp cold air from their clothes. The author and her siblings would take turns heading down the steep, narrow steps to get dressed, although no words may have been spoken, they all had a relatable hatred for this. They would then head out into the cold wind and snowflakes to their patiently waiting father, then they would have half a mile walk to the farm barn.

Upon the arrival to the barn Nick would immediately start herding the cows while the author and her sister would head to the milk house. Malissa and her father would milk the hundred cows and the author would feed the new born. She enjoyed feeding the newborns as she was the youngest in the family, she now was in control. After all these chores were done, they still had to clean out various huts and pens, and lay down fresh straw. Typically they were finished with chores and return home by seven thirty in the morning, usually arriving to the delicious smell of bacon and cheese omelets greeting them. Most times due to the time they would get a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and toast while trying to catch the bus.

When she arrived to school she had already been up for four hours while regular students have just rolled out of bed an hour before. School had always been the authors social life but she wasn't able to participate in anything else due to her home chores. This fact made her feel left out and depressed. In the eight