Coming Of Age Essay

A time that I felt was me "coming of age" was when I went on my Big Island trip in the fourth grade and we stayed there for 3 days and 2 nights. The reason why we went was because we were supposed to learn more about the Hawaiian culture and the Kings and Queens of Hawaii.

I was 10 years old, going on a trip without my parents going with me. Not only did I experience going on a trip without any family members, but I experienced working toward it to go on the trip.The day I found out about my trip, made me a very excited, young, little girl, who wanted to go so badly.

I ran home after school that day, rushed into the house, yelling, "Mommy, mommy! We are taking a field trip to Big Island, can I go, PLEASE?" My mom had a smile on her face; and then I gave her the permission slip, her face didn't really look to happy anymore.

"Jisel, the price is really high and I don't think that you should go on this trip; it's too expensive."

I took the paper back from my mother and walked away with a sad look on my face.

The next day, I went to school, and I told my teacher, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Fujii, my mom said that the trip is too expensive, so I can't go." I looked at her with a sad frown on my face. She told me, "You know what, Jisel? you are a very bright girl and I think that you deserve to go on this trip. I'll tell you what, if you help me everyday after school to move these things from the classroom, I will pay you 5 dollars a week." I turned around and smiled at her, "Thank you so much! I appreciate it."

From then on, for two weeks, I would stay after school and help move the things in the classroom; it was being renovated. I had experienced hard work and cleaning. Working towards going on my trip was worth it.

Finally, the day had come. The day that I had to wake up three in the morning to catch a bus to the airport. I was so excited, to go on my trip and to hang out with my friends for 3 days. We arrived at the airport in Kona. We had groups, so we had to stay with our group the whole trip. The first thing we did was go straight to the hotel to put our bags down. But right after that we went out on the tour bus to explore Kona for the day.

The best part was spending the night at the hotel. Even though we had to go to sleep at a certain time, we made our time worth while, playing around and just making the nights fun. But because our day was so long, we had to get a lot of rest because the next day was going to be another long day.

"Wake up, kids. Get ready, today is going to be a long day," said my group leader. We got up and got ready, packed up our bags and left for the tour bus. Not only did we finish sighting Kona, but we went to Hilo and started there also, on that day. We visited places and learned about King Kamehameha.

"I'm tired," I said as we dragged ourselves into the hotel in Hilo. Another day went by as we continued to study about the Hawaiian Culture. And soon came the day we had to leave. I was sad but at the same time happy to go home. I felt that our trip was worth while and I am glad that I got to go.

This trip showed that I was coming of age because I brought on responsibilities of taking care of myself without my mom and making sure to be safe. I also had to listen and pay attention so I don't get lost. I also learned that you should work hard toward your goals. Just like I had helped my teacher to work toward being able to go on the trip.