Personal Narrative: My Childhood Obstacles

Obstacles are something that everyone goes through, but how young does one have to be to go through their very first challenge? My first, obstacle, one that I sometimes have to face today, came to me at a very young age. As a child, my immediate family began working at the 77 flea market. My siblings and I basically grew up there. We had a rough and unstable childhood physically, psychologically and economically, but what’s a life without a challenge. What’s an obstacle that cannot be overcome?

I don’t remember the exact date as to when we began going to the flea market, but as my mother described it “ever since you were in diapers.” Around 7 years ago the flea market was probably 3 to five acres of pure ground grass and rock. Absolutely nothing

As babies, we had to wake up before four in the morning just to be able to get a spot. As children, this was extremely exhausting, most children at our ages were asleep not arranging merchandise in the teeth chattering cold, or the blazing sun. From four in the morning to five in the afternoon, an agonizing fourteen hours in that dreadful market that robbed us of our childhood. This routine was not only stressful for us kids, it was also stressful for our parents. They noticed just how much it hurt the entire family, but not having actual jobs they had no choice because the flea market brought bread to our table.

Just recently I had begun to understand why this routine was so important. My family’s economic condition wasn’t always great, so that was the result. I began to accept that every weekend from the morning onwards we spent the day in the market or in the truck, without food. After understanding a problem, one begins to look for a way to make it bearable. I began to make the best out of it because I knew it wouldn’t change, and before I knew it I overcame my challenge.

Today marks thirteen years at the 77 flea market. Now with all the land and innovations that were added I found it easy to be there. I consider it my second home, and the people I have known there for a long time, my second