The Little OneBy: 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-

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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 nine-year-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?”

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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 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 mwahahahahahaIf 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 ChunA 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.

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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.

“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

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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

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.

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Note to self:No more shrieking andrunning around the

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 1st, they would induce labor, which

meant that she would be given medicine to trigger contractions.  My

grandma flew from Korea on the 30th of 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?

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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!

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

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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

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

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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

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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