The Little One
By: Suzy Chun
Ms. Jerome
January 16th, 2015
Guided Studies
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Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................... 3
What if: The Baby.................................................................................... 4
Journal Entry: The News............................................................................. 5
List: Rules for Suzy................................................................................. 6-7
Note-to-self: Restrictions............................................................................ 7
Phone Conversation: The Call...................................................................... 8-9
Pros and Cons: The Rainbows and the Poop....................................................... 9
Photos: Darren Chun...............................................................................10-12
Song Lyrics: Never Grow Up, by Taylor Swift................................................. 13-14
Endnote.................................................................................................15
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Introduction
My name is Suzy Chun, and I am thirteen years old. To me, memories are very
precious. They tell us what happened, when we cannot recall. Memories are beautiful,
no matter how disconsolate or delighting they are.
I chose my topic to remember my favorite memory; the gift of new life. Though
there will be many more, this was life-changing. Four words flipped my world, and all
the dream vacations I hoped to go on with my family were halted. Everything slowed
down. The news itself was not bad, in fact it was amazing, but the sudden blow dazed
me. That day, I found out about the newest addition to the family.
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“Your mom is pregnant.”
Those four words echoed through my mind as I clutched our velvet purple couch,
tears springing into my eyes. As I smelled the croissants baking, I wondered how my life
could have been so paradisiac a few seconds ago. I looked around the room, at my
family, clutching onto my cousin Amy, who lives with us. It was not that I disliked the
news, it just changed everything, and I do not enjoy change. To be honest, I had always
wanted a “baby,” and begged my mom for one because all I had was an annoying nineyear-old brother named Jake. My mind was boggled with “what ifs...”
What if this is a prank?
What if Mom has a miscarriage?
What if the baby’s ugly?
What if the baby looks like Jake?
Oh no…What if the baby ACTS like Jake?!?!?!
What if the baby’s a boy that looks and acts like Jake?
Jake had a question regarding the baby:
“What instrument will he play?”
We all started to laugh, because Jake had already decided the baby was a boy. His
question however, was reasonable. Our entire family plays music. Jake plays the cello
and the piano, our dad is a professor of viola, our mom is a voice professor, and I play the
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violin and piano. Even Amy plays music, the flute and piano. Naturally, I was biased
towards the baby playing the violin. My dad asked me, “What if the baby plays better
than you, Suzy?”
“I don’t care because I don’t like violin anyways. If the baby’s better than me, then that’s
good for him,” I proudly stated. As soon as I could, I wrote in my diary about the news.
Dear Diary,
My mom is pregnant!!!!! My parents told me yesterday, and I’m so excited!!!!
I will turn the baby into my assistant in my war against Jake mwahahahahaha
If the baby is a boy, then we should name him after all my favorite celebrities!
Or maybe not….. Mom wouldn't like it….. I have to go, Mom’s calling me for dinner.
See you later!
Love,
Suzy Chun
A couple of weeks later, I decided to give the baby a unisex nickname. My mom
was listing a whole bunch of cheesy nicknames like Precious, but I had a unique idea.
“Potato, or 감자 (Gamja),” I stated simply.
The family turned to face me, looks of confusion written all over their faces.
“What do you mean 감자?” my dad finally asked.
“감자, as in Potato. I love potatoes, so I’ll show my affection by calling him 감자,”
I explained.
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“The baby’s a precious gift from God, so we should give it a name equally so!!!” my
mom protested.
Dad ended the discussion by saying, “Leave her alone honey. If that’s how Suzy’s going to
show her love, then let her.”
Soon enough, it was time to learn 감자’s gender. I wanted the baby to be a girl
and name her Erin, and Jake wanted it to be a boy. My dad decided to tell us in a cruel
fashion: whomever the ball hit, the baby would the unlucky victim’s gender. Now my dad
is known in the household for throwing very strongly, so naturally Jake and I cowered on
the ground. I closed my eyes for the impending ball, positive the baby was a girl, but it
never came. The ball had hit Jake. I started sobbing uncontrollably, for I had
desperately wanted a little sister to doll up and spoil. Unfortunately, my dad caught my
tantrum on tape, and I refuse to share it here. After my dad threatened to post the video
on YouTube, I calmed down and accepted the facts.
Months passed, and it became summer. Amy left for Korea until school started,
and my mother became more and more tired as her stomach and 감자 grew. When my
mom got really frustrated at my antics, Dad called for a family meeting on better
behavior to help his wife relax. After the meeting ended, I had a list of things to
remember.
1. Fight less with Jake
2. Stay quiet when Mom is taking a nap
3. Wash the dishes more often
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4. Don’t yell as much
5. Help out with cleaning the house
6. Don’t leave clothes everywhere
7. Don’t sing my music, because Mom hates it and insists that 감자 doesn’t like it either
Basically what my dad told me to do was not have as much fun. I HATE washing
dishes… Honestly, I didn’t really keep those rules. I’m naturally loud, childish (which
results in petty fights with Jake), and lazy. It doesn’t help that I hate cleaning my
room. My parents say that the room Amy and I share smells like a bachelor’s
house. Luckily, I successfully avoided washing the dishes and cleaning my room as
much as possible.
Note to self:
No more shrieking and
running around the house

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Summer ended, my cousin Amy came back, and school started. I picked the name
Darren for 감자, and Jake was the only one who didn’t like it. But as time passed,
Darren still was not born. The doctor concluded that if my mom was not in labor by
Wednesday, October 1 , they would induce labor, which meant that she would be
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given medicine to trigger contractions. My grandma flew from Korea on the 30 of
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September on a Tuesday, and my mom went to the hospital the next day for the
induced labor. Sadly, I could not skip school, but I mentally wrote a memo during
class.
When I got home from school around 1:50 p.m., I kept my phone next to me and
checked it every five minutes. I was writing a book review for English, but couldn’t
concentrate. Writing a sentence here and there, I ended up sitting tensely. Around 2:30
p.m. I called my dad to check up on my mom. After hearing her voice, I finally relaxed
and continued writing. The call about our new family member came at 4:47.
Me: Hello?
Dad: Darren was born at 3:28
Me: *starts to cry* Really? Is he handsome?
Dad: He’s so handsome, and he has a lot of hair. It’s really curly too
Me: How much hair? *laughs*
Dad: The first thing the doctors’ saw was a black head!
Me: Pick us up to go see the baby as soon as possible, okay?
Dad: Okay. I love you!
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Me: Love you too *smiles*
I was overjoyed to have someone to dote on. Since Jake is three years younger than me,
I don’t remember him as a baby. Besides, Darren won’t be as annoying as Jake. As I
waited for Dad to pick me, Jake, and my grandma up, I made a pros and cons list about
having a baby in the house.
Pros
1. There’s a cute baby I can see 24/7
2. I can finally be a good older sister
3. I can learn how to take care of babies for the future
4. I can be a mini mom!
5. I’ll love him
6. He’ll love me
Cons
1. He might disturb my sleep
2. He might get all the attention
3. His poop will smell
4. He might pee on me
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Around eight p.m. my dad picked the three of us up. We went to see Darren, who was
absolutely adorable. Jake started to cry when he saw the baby, and I teared up as
well. The next day, we went to visit Darren and our mom right after school, and stayed
there all evening. On Friday, our adored Darren came home.
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Almost 4 months have flown by, my grandma left after 2 months, and Darren is a
great deal chubbier. When he came home, he was less than 6 pounds. Now he is 15
pounds. The baby coos a lot, but the way he does it makes it sound like he’s conversing
with someone. I’m never happier than when I am with Darren. I wish he’d never get
older, so I used to sing Taylor Swift’s, “Never Grow Up” to him, slowly and softly.
Your little hands wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter 'cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night-light
To you, everything's funny
You got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple
I won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
No, no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up
You're in the car on the way to the movies
And you're mortified your mom's dropping you off
At 14, there's just so much you can't do
And you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots
But don't make her drop you off around the block
Remember that she's getting older, too
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And don't lose the way that you dance around
In your PJs getting ready for school
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple
No one's ever burned you
Nothing's ever left you scarred
And even though you want to
Just try to never grow up
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End Note
This moment in time is over a year long, and I learned loads from it. At times I
was afraid to have children, because watching my mother struggle with her pregnancy at
the age of 43 scared me and was upsetting. Everything became official only when his
birth certificate came home. Whenever I see Darren, I can't help thinking of the song
“Never Grow Up.” I want this moment in time to stop and freeze. It’s never easy for me
to mature, but when around Darren, I can’t prevent being an exceptional older
sister. People change us, and so do memories.
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