Bobbi Gentry

 This is creative non-fiction and also came from a school assignment. In this case, the assignment we were given was to write about something from our past from our point of view as a child. I originally had planned to just write about how this situation impacted me and my self-esteem, my still ongoing hate of my hair, and try to make a point about how seemingly small things can have such a large impact. However, as I was writing the story took a turn and became more about how myself (and so many of us I think) are raised in a way that promotes hiding our true emotions, like being strong and showing feelings cannot possibly co-exist, and how even those of us who try to overcome that attitude can promote it, often without even realizing it. This story really made me think about surface level healing versus deep healing, and I hope you take some time to think about that too. 

 This was originally written as a school assignment for an MFA program. The prompt for the assignment was simply to write something in which at least 3 of the senses played an important role in. I remembered from previous psychology classes the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique, so I thought I would use that as the basis for the story. I have also always disliked fireworks, and this feeling was emphasized after seeing a firework show cause flashbacks in a war veteran. Seeing his retraumatization on a day when we were celebrating our freedom and those who fought for it, like him, had a profound effect on me. Additionally, as someone who has worked in prisons, I've encountered many veterans who work in the prison system as well as many veterans who are incarcerated. I've seen the damage many of these individuals have come back with, heard about how their lives were forever changed, and the unfortunate lack of resources to help them deal with the trauma they've experienced.  This ...