The Lion's Pride , Vol. 5 (Feb. 2016) | Page 14

Teenager with a Badge and a Gun June Alexander This was my first written essay assignment for English 101 with instructor Sherry Rind. Imagine growing up as a redhead tomboy while at the same time being a southern girly girl who loved dressing up. I graduated from high school at age eighteen and half and was at a crossroads of what I wanted to be for the rest of my life. I had always been interested in shows that were law enforcement based, carefully watching every episode with rapt attention. I loved the methodical way that a crime was solved and somewhere deep inside of me I felt a need to help others in a time of crisis. I knew what I was going to do with the rest of my life: “I want to be a Cop like on TV!” My parents were older than most of my friends’ parents and as such were very old fashioned. My father had the firm belief that his little girls should get married and become stay at home moms. I went to my parent’s room to inform them of what I was meant to do with my life. Nervously sitting on the edge of my parent’s bed I blurted out “I want to be a Cop like on TV!” I now had both my mom and dad’s full attention. The incredible fastness of my father’s response of “I FORBID IT”