Self to Text Connection: "Brett, Unbroken" and The Methods of My Mother

From Brett Unbroken: "She read to you every day. She did math problems with you. She paid you and Mark a penny each for every fly you killed. She let you play horseshoes, and didn’t let you see how that terrified her, and everyone else in the vicinity. And she might have softened, might have let you slide when things were toughest, might have given you a break. But she didn’t."

This story, recorded by Steve Friedman, is a telling of Brett Dunlap and life experience after his tragedy of an incident. Brett suffers physical and mental hardships but manages to keep going with the support of close friends and families. Brett's mother plays a huge role in the life of Brett and teaches him to be independent in this tough, loving manner. My mother also wanted me to become independent and was tough on me. She didn't want to always carry me to the top but wanted me to push through whatever problems I was facing and to A: endure it or B: work around it. The first thing she established with me is that I rely on the internet for help. Whether it's what to feed my cat, how to do algebra problems, or how to tie a bowtie, I would learn from the internet. That was leaping step into my development for independence. When she had seen me doing something stupid, a situation where I could possibly hurt myself, she would let it happen, let me fall off the stool, let me touch the iron, let me cut myself. It might sound cruel like she doesn't care, but she takes into account that my problems were solvable under my terms, and that the possibilities of physical pain wasn't as severe, and so she made it sure that I was always able to get back up and learn from my mistakes.