What is better than remembering your old house and the good memories around it? I grew up in a house back in the Dominican Republic since I was born, until the day I came to the United States on January 7, 2011. This place for me is more than a house, it is my home. The good memories of this house are what really defined me as the man I am today. I had this sensation of happiness each time the school bus stopped in front of my old house that it was just unique, because I knew that I was going to have fun ones inside the house.
My grandma and grandpa also grew up in this house, making the house even better and greater. Then, they had to move because they were first going to Spain and then to the United States to stay here. My mother who lived with them the longest, had to stay with the house while they were gone. Time passed, and that was where I born, but before me, my mother had had my sister already. My father bought the house from my grandfather and that’s when my life began.
The house has 2 floors. On the first floor it has 3 bedrooms: my mom’s, my sister’s, and mine. Then it has 1 bathroom for everyone is needs. On the second floor there are 2 bedrooms and one bathroom. At the time, we had family members outside the country and because of that the second floor was an extra space for family who would come to visit us or to stay.
When I was around 12 years old, my cousin and I used to play a lot in the back yard. The back yard is big with different types of trees, it has bananas, oranges, and many more. It had a mini farm that my father built with chickens, and one time he brought a bunny and I named him Lucas. The back yard was also where our dog “ Firulays” stayed next to a tree of an avocado. My cousin and I also used to play at the basketball hoop my father built for me. We used to play for hours, and at times invited a friend to join us play.
My room in this house for me was the most special place. It was where I had my space and all my things. I had a video game that each day after school I would just play for hours, but my mom didn’t like it. I used to have a secret space that I would go to behind the cabinet each time my mom got upset with me. It was just crazy because I would hide in there for hours just so my mom didn’t see me. I used to go to my father and tell him everything when he was home sitting on his chair after he ate his lunch. One time he told me that to be a man I have to take responsibilities in the house and also to help my mother when he was out working.
I used to invite friends over my house, just to play hide and seek at the living room just because it was the center of the house. We used to start in the Livingroom because it was the part of the house with more space and also because it connects to other parts of the house like the kitchen, the stairs to the second floor and the bedrooms of the house. There was also this door connected to the living room where we could open it and walk back and get to the back yard. The living room was the place that most of the things happened between us. My family and I used to play there a lot of times, building good memories like making jokes, eating and also my father telling us how his childhood was at night. I have the best memories of my life when I remember this house.
When I came to the U.S, everything was different. The house where I stay at wasn’t the same, it didn’t have the same space my old house had, and the people wasn’t the same. It just felt very different at first. It took me months to realize that I would no longer live in this beautiful old and comfy home of mine. My friends, my room, the back yard and the living room memories will always be inside me. Things change in life, but it is how it is. If I could change the time, I would go back to my old house and build my future in the Dominican Republic.
