Amber Dewart
English 367 1-3pm
Professor Lohre
Essay 2 Interview
I met with Amanda Schleagel on May 1, 2009. It was a dreary, rainy day. We met in the evening and she was accompanied by her two children. They are four and two. She was very gracious to meet with me. Even though she was not sure what the interview was about or for. I explained before we started that evening. We sat and talked for about an hour before the interview ever started. We talked about current events that help settle nerves for the both of us, so we would be ready to start. She was very willing to answer all my questions to the best of her knowledge and recollection. We were interrupted several times by our children for different reasons, but that did not stop us from getting the interview done. It just put some blocks in the path but did not prohibit. We just went around them and continued forward. I had a great time with Amanda and learned a great deal from her. She is a very outgoing, outspoken person that has a lot to say. I learned a lot about her past that surprised me because with her personality, you would have never guessed what she had been through as a child. Her faith in God carries her through. As she kept talking I was very engaged to hear more about what she had to say. Although, some hardships have came her way she is a positive person that has admirations to help children find their inner beauty. That is a difficult task in today’s society, but is needed. With the help of her family she is working to achieving her goals. I hope that she is successful in all that she tries. Amanda is a perfect candidate to accomplish what she wants. She is a great inspiration to me.
My name is Amanda Schleagel and I am twenty-seven years old. I am married with two children. I am a dance instructor for children ranging from 3 to 13 years in age. I love my job and especially my family. I think that family support is important. I did not have an easy childhood and would like to help other children if I can. I would be a surrogate mother for them if I am needed to be. I feel that God has leaded me to this job to be able to provide a dance for these children to be able to express themselves without being judged. I want to be a role model for them.
My early childhood years I grew up with my mom, she was a single mom. She did the best that she could by me. She was very busy trying to support the both of us so she was away quite a bit to work. She did not want to be away, but needing the money controlled that. We moved a lot. That was very tough on me because that meant that I changed schools a lot. One school would be farther ahead than another and I would have a hard time catching up. I didn’t stay at a school long enough to even get a tutor. My father was not in the picture unless I contacted him. He didn’t deny that he was my father; he just had remarried and had two more children. He would never pursue a relationship with me, I had to pursue him. My mother had remarried too. She met a man that came from money. He didn’t want to be lonely and she needed money. It was like a business deal between them. I had my own bedroom and my own bathroom. I got a lot of toys too. I was confined to my room though. I was not allowed to come out and be in the rest of the house. Every once in a while when my step dad would be gone my mother would let me come watch TV with her on the big screen TV. I wondered why she would allow this. This is like a form of child abuse.
I was put into counseling at an early age for anger issues. My mom felt this was necessary. I learned a lot from the counseling. It showed me that it builds character. That you can get through things. I learned that I am not harmed and that I could focus on the future. I was taught that I can not let the past effect my future. I need to put in the past and move forward. Counseling has taught me how to be a better mom for my children. I am thankful that I was put in counseling. I still continue to go today. You now every so often just checking up and making sure that I am okay. I am all for counseling, I feel that it is important. I feel that everyone needs a chance to express themselves without limits. People really need to try to dig deeper into the situation of why they are stressed out or something to that nature. Things that you may not want to be criticized about like if you were talking to your friends or family about. You need that outside person.
My grandparents would come up from Southern Ohio as much as they could to help care for me. This could be difficult because of where they lived compared to us. My grandmother especially would come up to care for me because she did not work. She became a mother role for me. I was really adopted as her fourth child. That is a well known fact by my family. It has been accepted.
As I got into seventh grade I became bullied by some tenth graders. It got so serious that they would surround my house while my mother was at work and knock on the windows and shout “we know you are in there”. This got to be very serious. I begged my mom to let me go and live with my grandparents. At first she did not like the idea, but she finally gave in. At first it would only be for six months to finish out the rest of the school year. Hopefully to let this all die down. My overall health and personality took a turn for the better. I felt better about myself. My grades went from D’s and F’s to A’s and B’s. My mom could not dispute the changes that had been made. So I continued to live with my grandparents through high school and some of college. There was no legal agreement, but there was a family agreement. My grandparents supported me in everything I wanted to do. They supported me emotionally and financially with all my activities. I tried everything too. I did swimming, volleyball, voice lessons and much more. My grandparents paid for me to go Niagara Falls for school. They just did all that they could. They didn’t force me, just supported. They helped me bloom.
This was hard on my mom and me’s relationship. It put a huge strain on it. I seen her only on breaks and holidays. It is not my mother’s fault. She did not want to do it, but she was just not able to take care of me. It really redefined the whole relationship between my mom and me. It’s just a weird relationship that we have. We still continue to be close today, but there are times that I really do not feel that I connect with her. It’s distant for us. She seems more like a sister to me. She will occasionally even slip and say your mom, I mean your grandma. She may even say your dad, I mean your grandpa. I am glad that she doesn’t have a problem with that, had she fought it or had a difficult time it could have created more problems all together for the whole situation.
Now that I am an adult with children and trying to focus on them and myself I find a different set of obligations. It takes a village to raise a family. Some people can do it by themselves and that is great. God provided us with other humans so that we could reach out to each other. Some people are able to do better than others. I am not putting any one down that can. We all have been in the same situation at one time or another and you know it is not the problems it is the way that you seek the answer. The solution to the problem that you find is what defines you as a person in my opinion. Yes, you have to take care of children financially, but you also need to provide emotional support and love for them. Make children feel safe and secure.
This is why I wanted to pursue a career as a child psychologist. I wanted to help children. I said I was going to be a psychologist when I was in high school. I loved the classes. I wanted to help children get through family issues. I also thought about being a family therapist, a marriage counselor. I like to sit with people and help them. That feels good to me. While at Shawnee State University working toward my psychologist degree I worked in the President’s office. After a couple of years I just started getting tired of the same old thing. Or I don’t know if God was telling me to do something bigger and better. I decided to move back with my mom. I did not receive my college degree, but I think one day I will venture back and pursue a degree in education. I am going to wait and see where that takes me. Right now I just am enjoying where I am at. I will just ride the waves and see where that goes next. I am not ready to set up goals that may end in failure. I could not handle that right now.
I feel that I am not living the American Dream. To me that is back in the 1950’s portrait with the white picket fence. I do feel however that I am living a dream. Many people feel that the American Dream is the material things. If you are not the standard issue, then you are just not it. I am so incredibly blessed to have the support, life fulfillment, and teaching. That is my dream. I am fulfilling God’s wish for me—the happiness and the joy. I am teaching children dance. I am doing this because God encouraged this. He is telling me to hold tight and see what he has in store for me. He tells me to look at the whole picture, not just the tiny stuff. What God has provided me with; I should just be grateful for what I have. Honestly, I feel like this is my time to shine. This is what God made me for. It is important to stand back and ask, “What is it that God want me to do with my life?” Ultimately it is his show anyways, we are on his stage. We need to play by his rules. We need to accept what his has in store for us. Sometimes it is a surprise.
It does not mean that I do not have my down days. Yes I do, I am human. I am able to handle those days easier because the positives get me through the day. The positives outweigh the negatives. You have a down day then you pick yourself up at the end of the day. You have a bowl of ice cream and then have a nice bath. Then you say okay I am starting a new day tomorrow. You cannot let one day effect the rest of your life. You just can’t. You need to keep your life in perspective. Life is life. It is always changing, and it is never going to stop changing. You have to be flexible. People may not take life for granted but the situation. We take for granted things at that time. You need to seize the very moment that you are in. Everything changes in the blink of an eye. It can change for the drastic measure unfortunately for the worst sometimes. People do not need to be in fear of those at all times, but keep that in the back of your head. Be aware of what is out there and what can happen. Remind themselves how life actually is. We have all been there.
English 367 1-3pm
Professor Lohre
Essay 2 Interview
I met with Amanda Schleagel on May 1, 2009. It was a dreary, rainy day. We met in the evening and she was accompanied by her two children. They are four and two. She was very gracious to meet with me. Even though she was not sure what the interview was about or for. I explained before we started that evening. We sat and talked for about an hour before the interview ever started. We talked about current events that help settle nerves for the both of us, so we would be ready to start. She was very willing to answer all my questions to the best of her knowledge and recollection. We were interrupted several times by our children for different reasons, but that did not stop us from getting the interview done. It just put some blocks in the path but did not prohibit. We just went around them and continued forward. I had a great time with Amanda and learned a great deal from her. She is a very outgoing, outspoken person that has a lot to say. I learned a lot about her past that surprised me because with her personality, you would have never guessed what she had been through as a child. Her faith in God carries her through. As she kept talking I was very engaged to hear more about what she had to say. Although, some hardships have came her way she is a positive person that has admirations to help children find their inner beauty. That is a difficult task in today’s society, but is needed. With the help of her family she is working to achieving her goals. I hope that she is successful in all that she tries. Amanda is a perfect candidate to accomplish what she wants. She is a great inspiration to me.
My name is Amanda Schleagel and I am twenty-seven years old. I am married with two children. I am a dance instructor for children ranging from 3 to 13 years in age. I love my job and especially my family. I think that family support is important. I did not have an easy childhood and would like to help other children if I can. I would be a surrogate mother for them if I am needed to be. I feel that God has leaded me to this job to be able to provide a dance for these children to be able to express themselves without being judged. I want to be a role model for them.
My early childhood years I grew up with my mom, she was a single mom. She did the best that she could by me. She was very busy trying to support the both of us so she was away quite a bit to work. She did not want to be away, but needing the money controlled that. We moved a lot. That was very tough on me because that meant that I changed schools a lot. One school would be farther ahead than another and I would have a hard time catching up. I didn’t stay at a school long enough to even get a tutor. My father was not in the picture unless I contacted him. He didn’t deny that he was my father; he just had remarried and had two more children. He would never pursue a relationship with me, I had to pursue him. My mother had remarried too. She met a man that came from money. He didn’t want to be lonely and she needed money. It was like a business deal between them. I had my own bedroom and my own bathroom. I got a lot of toys too. I was confined to my room though. I was not allowed to come out and be in the rest of the house. Every once in a while when my step dad would be gone my mother would let me come watch TV with her on the big screen TV. I wondered why she would allow this. This is like a form of child abuse.
I was put into counseling at an early age for anger issues. My mom felt this was necessary. I learned a lot from the counseling. It showed me that it builds character. That you can get through things. I learned that I am not harmed and that I could focus on the future. I was taught that I can not let the past effect my future. I need to put in the past and move forward. Counseling has taught me how to be a better mom for my children. I am thankful that I was put in counseling. I still continue to go today. You now every so often just checking up and making sure that I am okay. I am all for counseling, I feel that it is important. I feel that everyone needs a chance to express themselves without limits. People really need to try to dig deeper into the situation of why they are stressed out or something to that nature. Things that you may not want to be criticized about like if you were talking to your friends or family about. You need that outside person.
My grandparents would come up from Southern Ohio as much as they could to help care for me. This could be difficult because of where they lived compared to us. My grandmother especially would come up to care for me because she did not work. She became a mother role for me. I was really adopted as her fourth child. That is a well known fact by my family. It has been accepted.
As I got into seventh grade I became bullied by some tenth graders. It got so serious that they would surround my house while my mother was at work and knock on the windows and shout “we know you are in there”. This got to be very serious. I begged my mom to let me go and live with my grandparents. At first she did not like the idea, but she finally gave in. At first it would only be for six months to finish out the rest of the school year. Hopefully to let this all die down. My overall health and personality took a turn for the better. I felt better about myself. My grades went from D’s and F’s to A’s and B’s. My mom could not dispute the changes that had been made. So I continued to live with my grandparents through high school and some of college. There was no legal agreement, but there was a family agreement. My grandparents supported me in everything I wanted to do. They supported me emotionally and financially with all my activities. I tried everything too. I did swimming, volleyball, voice lessons and much more. My grandparents paid for me to go Niagara Falls for school. They just did all that they could. They didn’t force me, just supported. They helped me bloom.
This was hard on my mom and me’s relationship. It put a huge strain on it. I seen her only on breaks and holidays. It is not my mother’s fault. She did not want to do it, but she was just not able to take care of me. It really redefined the whole relationship between my mom and me. It’s just a weird relationship that we have. We still continue to be close today, but there are times that I really do not feel that I connect with her. It’s distant for us. She seems more like a sister to me. She will occasionally even slip and say your mom, I mean your grandma. She may even say your dad, I mean your grandpa. I am glad that she doesn’t have a problem with that, had she fought it or had a difficult time it could have created more problems all together for the whole situation.
Now that I am an adult with children and trying to focus on them and myself I find a different set of obligations. It takes a village to raise a family. Some people can do it by themselves and that is great. God provided us with other humans so that we could reach out to each other. Some people are able to do better than others. I am not putting any one down that can. We all have been in the same situation at one time or another and you know it is not the problems it is the way that you seek the answer. The solution to the problem that you find is what defines you as a person in my opinion. Yes, you have to take care of children financially, but you also need to provide emotional support and love for them. Make children feel safe and secure.
This is why I wanted to pursue a career as a child psychologist. I wanted to help children. I said I was going to be a psychologist when I was in high school. I loved the classes. I wanted to help children get through family issues. I also thought about being a family therapist, a marriage counselor. I like to sit with people and help them. That feels good to me. While at Shawnee State University working toward my psychologist degree I worked in the President’s office. After a couple of years I just started getting tired of the same old thing. Or I don’t know if God was telling me to do something bigger and better. I decided to move back with my mom. I did not receive my college degree, but I think one day I will venture back and pursue a degree in education. I am going to wait and see where that takes me. Right now I just am enjoying where I am at. I will just ride the waves and see where that goes next. I am not ready to set up goals that may end in failure. I could not handle that right now.
I feel that I am not living the American Dream. To me that is back in the 1950’s portrait with the white picket fence. I do feel however that I am living a dream. Many people feel that the American Dream is the material things. If you are not the standard issue, then you are just not it. I am so incredibly blessed to have the support, life fulfillment, and teaching. That is my dream. I am fulfilling God’s wish for me—the happiness and the joy. I am teaching children dance. I am doing this because God encouraged this. He is telling me to hold tight and see what he has in store for me. He tells me to look at the whole picture, not just the tiny stuff. What God has provided me with; I should just be grateful for what I have. Honestly, I feel like this is my time to shine. This is what God made me for. It is important to stand back and ask, “What is it that God want me to do with my life?” Ultimately it is his show anyways, we are on his stage. We need to play by his rules. We need to accept what his has in store for us. Sometimes it is a surprise.
It does not mean that I do not have my down days. Yes I do, I am human. I am able to handle those days easier because the positives get me through the day. The positives outweigh the negatives. You have a down day then you pick yourself up at the end of the day. You have a bowl of ice cream and then have a nice bath. Then you say okay I am starting a new day tomorrow. You cannot let one day effect the rest of your life. You just can’t. You need to keep your life in perspective. Life is life. It is always changing, and it is never going to stop changing. You have to be flexible. People may not take life for granted but the situation. We take for granted things at that time. You need to seize the very moment that you are in. Everything changes in the blink of an eye. It can change for the drastic measure unfortunately for the worst sometimes. People do not need to be in fear of those at all times, but keep that in the back of your head. Be aware of what is out there and what can happen. Remind themselves how life actually is. We have all been there.
What a unique story! Very interesting and inspiring!
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