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Glad For Divorce
"When I was a child I saw children of divorce odd, fascinating and depressing. I thought that children of divorce were more likely to get in trouble than children whose parents were still together. "
By Rachel Eppstein
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Rachel Eppstein discusses how she overcame the stigma of having divorced parents.
When I was a child I saw children of divorce odd, fascinating and depressing. I thought that children of divorce were more likely to get in trouble than children whose parents were still together. I assumed that divorced families weren't happy. The media reinforces these thoughts. I remember watching Stepmom, a movie with Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon where the troubled, bratty daughter deteriorates after her parents divorce. The daughter gets even worse when her father remarries.
When I was around 12 years old, my parents got divorced. At first, I didn't take it very well. I acted the way that I assumed children were supposed to act. My grades went down a lot. I wasn't used to switching houses back and forth between each parent. I wasn't happy, either. But eventually I got more and more accustomed to switching houses every other day. My dad ended up marrying a woman named Sally, and at first I didn't deal very well with this change, either. And then eventually I became to feel okay with having a stepmother.
I started working hard in school. I decided that I wouldn't let myself be negatively affected by my parent's decisions. In fact, I think I'm happier that my parents got divorced.
Even though times are a little rough now at both houses, I think that both of my parents are also happier being divorced than they would have been if they had stayed together. Now I'm making A's and B's. I don't use drugs or alcohol, either. So that's good. My sister, who's actually my half sister, has actually dealt with two divorces. She is a straight A student and is attending The University of Georgia on scholarship and is studying to become a nonprofit business manager. She doesn't take any drugs, either. My little brother is also a straight A student.
You don't really hear many stories about children of divorce doing good things. But I am strong and I learned that divorce doesn't have to be as bad for children as the media portrays it.
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