Merry Go-Round Of Life

In my book Imani all mine, the author shows a young girl Tasha trying to find her place in adult hood. Tasha is now a mother of a new born baby and trying to finish school and also be the best mother she can be but her life is full of up and downs.

Tasha is in a generation where girls her age are already having sex or getting pregnant but she never thought it would be her. Tasha never even thought about that topic it was always about friends and school. Tasha had low self-esteem in the process of having Imani. “He never said I was pretty or nothing right before he kissed me in my mouth”, Tasha was young and naive at that point because at that very moment the boy who’s name is not yet revealed  took advantage of her and raped her until he was satisfied. I felt that was one of the key moments in the whole book because even something so bad happened to Tasha she learned that the world and people are not always kind and you have to see that this world does not care about you in the long run.

Tasha is still a child in an adult world and body. She still wants her mother attention while showing her baby some too. Tasha has not yet found a happy medium with her self. Juggling her crazy life and only being 14 still a child in her own mother’s womb. “Maybe I am getting too grown to want to sleep with Mama. But like a baby, I still have this smallness to my mind. I don't need her hands to convince me the world I can't see from under my blanket is real. I need her hands to do more than her words. Convince me the world I see outside it- ain't.” In this quote I feel Tasha is trying to say that she doesn’t want her mother to forget that she is a child. Tasha wants to do certain things that a small child would do if there scared of the thunder or hiding from the monsters under their bed. Growing up is all about leaving your childish thoughts behind and getting new ideas. Tasha is not out of that stage because she still wants to be coddled by her mother.

As a young adult you have your moments when all you want is that loving and affection that you used to get as a little kid. The question I ask why does that stop? Is it because were growing up and don’t want to be bothered by our parents or because they just know we need our space? Tasha mother has stopped giving her that affection as soon she felt she was growing up and I feel that’s why Tasha can’t come to her mother and tell her she was raped.

Coming of Age has an affect on every teen age life. Growing up is one of the hardest things you can over come. There are so many things that come up during coming of age and how do you deal with these problems when you’re trying to decide if you’re into boys or into girls, maybe both? Coming of age is hard for Tasha and I  think\hope she will grow up and be the person she strives to be.