A Little Piece of Minty: My Childhood

Want to know more about my childhood? Read on!

Our gorgeous, local mall

I grew up in Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida. I lived with my mom in West Palm Beach. We lived in a three bedroom house, even if there were six people living in the house. My brother, my sister and I shared a room, my mom had her own room, my grandmother had the last room and my uncle slept on the couch. I always hated living in West Palm Beach. We had no air conditioning in the summer and we always sweat pounds off! I remember we'd buy blow up pools and icicles in the summertime. Behind us lived these kids who were vicisouly mean. They were about  8 or 9 years old, but they knew how to cuss and hurt your feelings. All three of us (my sister, brother and I) were terrified of them. I don't think they had parents who cared for them, otherwise, they would have known better.
When hurricane season came around, it was always so scary! The noise was enough to make you scream. Me, I slept through anything, so it wasn't too bad. But when you wake up with no electricity and no clean water...it isn't fun.



In Miami, where I lived with my dad, there was so much crime it was crazy. If you left your car in the street at night, (like, in front of your house, but not in the garage), you'd wake up to find that your tires were removed, the radio was stolen and you no longer have an engine. Crime rates were incredibly high, it was terrifying. One time we were at a restaurant and a there were guys playing cards. The person who lost got so mad that he pulled a knife to the winner's throat! He didn't kill him, bit that moment was so terrifying for me.

Our house was caged. That way an intruder couldn't get into our house through windows or doors. I remember used to feel safer that way.
Going to Miami for half the summer was so much fun though. My dad had a lot of family members on his side of the family. I hated that we had to visit each and every one of them. I did enjoy going to my dad's rich, friends' houses! There was great food, nice pools, and it was exciting to explore the huge houses. Plus my dad would always take us to his friend's boat house, to parties, to nice restaurants, we'd always go shopping, it was amazing!

My childhood is kind of a blur. I can remember the bad memories more than the good ones. I remember we moved at least five times in my 9 years of living (at the time). My dad was always drinking and smoking. So most of the time he wasn't much fun to be around.My mom struggled to pay the bills and would come home really late from work. She was always tired, always stressed, and always taking it out on us. She'd yell at us, curse at us, and hit us. It was spanking, so it wasn't abuse, but that still didn't stop the pain. I always got scared when she got mad at my brother, he was a boy so she didn't take it easy on him, at all.
We all feared her then, which is probably the reason why we've rebelled all these years.

Disney World

Overall, Florida was a fun state to live in. I've been to Tallahassee, Miami, West Palm Beach, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, Pensacola, Fort Lauderdale, and probably more. And I have loved every one of them. Especially Fort Lauderdale, it's beautiful there.
Since we moved, I haven't been back, It's been almost six years now. Going back would bring back so many memories and I'm not sure if I'm ready to face them yet.