Certain experiences mark the beggining of maturity.

Certain things happen that mark the beginning of maturity. For some, maturity comes smoothly, but others encounter circumstances that thrust them into maturity. I was an individual who wasn't given a chance to mature naturally. My mother was diagnosed with cancer when I was a mere eight years old. The cancer spread fast and developed tumors in her brain. She didn't have a fleeting chance.

Now, you think that being only eight years old I wouldn't know enough about what was going on around me to be faced with the repercussions. My father would have stepped up and been strong for all of us. But with the lose of my mother, the love of his life, my father quickly fell to pieces. He was an early bird who started sleeping in till noon. He no longer ran each morning as he had in the past and my father left my mothers stuff in the closet for years.

I had a little sister, 5 years old, wondering "When is mommy coming home from her business trip?" I became a mother to my sister and a shoulder for my father. When I was eleven we started going to therapy. Though no one was fooled, my father did his best to pretend everything was perfect. Without a true mother figure my sister became a manipulative brat. She stormed around and made her demands. Dad became her victim, letting her do as she pleased.

After some time had past my dad continued on with most of his fatherly duties. I took over as many roles as I could. My roles grew as I did. I got my sister ready in the mornings and to bed at night when I was too little to help with much else. By the time I was driving I had a part-time job, and had practically raised my sister. I took her where she needed to go, packed her lunch, I did the laundry, and I cooked when I was home. With all of this and my schoolwork you can imagine I wasn't someone who had a very large social circle. I had more responsibilities and felt older than anyone I knew.

I matured at a very young age. For most, maturity is marked by new responsibilities such as getting your drivers license at age sixteen, graduating from high school at age eighteen, or moving away to university at age nineteen. But for me, maturity was marked by the lose of my mother at age eight.