My mother and my father are very different. From the way they grew up, to the way they are now, they have always been quite different. My father is made from the fibers of hard work and he is a tough as nails stubborn old guy. My mother is quite the opposite. She is gentle, caring, and a deep thinker.

My father was a wild man growing up. I know a lot about his crazy youth because he never missed the chance to pull me aside and tell mea story that "you can't tell your mother I told you." I always loved

My mother also had stories about her youth, but they didn't start in the same manner as my father's. Actually, her stories were pretty wild in their own way too. She would insist on telling me these stories when we were in a heated argument. My father always worked so much that he was never around during our fights. Even so

After hearing the stories my mother and my father have preached to me, I think I had it pretty easy growing up. Now I just wonder how I'm going to handle my kids someday. I know its going to reflect my youth, and I can only hope that I take the best of what both my parents have given me.

Alcohol was also a big thing in my father's youth. I remember a story that really sticks out in my mind. My father told me about his friend that lived upstate farm. He said is all they did up there was just drink a lot.

, my mom always loved to slap me with the dreaded, "I'm telling your father when he gets home!" Then she would hit me with the stories of her youth.

One time, they went out drinking, like usual. When they returned, his mother said they are not coming home drunk anymore and kicked them out. The weather outside was 10 or 20 below. So, they decided to sleeping in the barn was there only option. After sitting in the cold barn for a while his friend built up the courage and said, "Forget this! I'm goin in my house" and stormed out of the barn. My father woke up and looked around. His friend was gone. He must have made it in the house, he thought. On his way in to show his mother who was boss, he had lost his courage and passed out outside leaning on a tractor. My father said he took one look and ran over to him. His face was blue. There was ice in his beard and my father remembered how cold he had been in the barn. He ran over to him and wondering if he was alive. My father shook him. It took a minute of shaking but he awoke and said, "Man, I'm freezing!"

My mother's youth reflects in the way she liked to punish me. She refused to just tell me that I could not go out for a couple of days. She showed me the way she grew up. She would make me help her with the housework! I remember the time I got suspended from school. By the time I went back to school my house was spotless. Needl

Some common words found in the essay are:
, Forget I'm, people life, father mad, influential people life, stories mother, cold barn, mad woke, told stories, mother father, stories youth, mother's youth, influential people,
Approximate Word count = 1280
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)