Essay Excerpts
1st Grader
My favorite thing is when dad makes oatmeal and dyes it green and says it’s because it’s grasshopper
guts.
3rd Grader
He also taught me how to throw a ball right over the plate. I threw the ball crooked and he told me how to
point where I needed to throw. He shows me how he cares about me when he roots for me at my soccer
games. I can hear his voice above all the others in the crowd!
5th Grader
He teaches me with so much understanding that you can actually tell that he must have been a kid
sometime, too.
7th Grader
“Since my real father couldn’t care for me, after my mother died my uncle took me to live with his
family...He saw me through rough times and was there to put a light I the darkness. My uncle will soon
no longer be just my great uncle but the greatest dad I could ever have dreamed of having. He is now
officially adopting me. There is no way I can live without him. I know that he knows I love him. No
matter what happens I always will. He means everything to me. I will stand by his side as he stands by
mine, and never forget what a great father he is.”
9th Grader
“Although we have a firm foundation, there is one thing I would like to hear more of...I wish my dad
would say that he loves me more often. I know he does through his actions, I mean what kind of dad
would do all this for someone he didn’t love, but every night before I go to bed I say, ‘Night Dad. Love
You. See you in the morning.’ And he says ‘Uh huh!’ I wish that sometimes he would say I love you
back.”
11th Grader (her father abandoned her and her mom when she was 2)
“I don’t know what it is to have a father. I see people that have one and wish I had mine. I’ve always
wanted to feel the love of a father. Sometimes my days are bad and I cry because I need someone there to
talk to, to share my troubles, my fears, and most of all my dreams. I’ve been through a lot of bad
moments and if he would have been there none of this would have happened because he could have been
there to protect me. I feel empty inside.”
“I just wish that parents who have kids don’t forget that they have kids and remember that they have
brought something beautiful into this world. And they must take care of that beautiful person that they
created....I wish I could meet my father. I sometimes wonder if he even thinks of me anymore.”
11th Grader (her father abandoned her and her mom when she was 2)
12th Grader
“My dad is and always has been my number one fan. He would not miss a game if his life depended on
it. I recall after one of my high school games he told me that the buttons on his shirt popped off during
the game. I looked at him and said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said his buttons popped off
because he was bursting with pride. I will never forget the day he told me that.”
“The only thing I would like more out of my relationship with my father is for him to understand how
much I need him, despite the fact that I always act as though I know what is best for me. Other than that I
would not change him for the world.”