Blog #14 Draft Essay 3

His name is Hank. We’ve known each other for the past twenty-one years, which ultimately is my entire life. I can’t remember what it was like the day we met, yet I also can’t remember my life without him. All I know is that I’m not planning on living my life without him; not anytime soon at least.


I like to consider Hank to be extremely cultured. As a child, and even to this day, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to many different places including other countries while being accompanied by Hank. He didn’t necessarily get his own seat on the airplane; most of the time he’d sit comfortably on my lap, however, he has still had the opportunity to travel a lot more than many others.


When I was eight, my parents, younger sister, Hank, and I traveled to the Bahamas, where we stayed at the newly opened Atlantis Hotel and Casino. Although he didn’t join us in visiting the downtown straw market in Nassau, or lay poolside sipping drinks with little umbrellas in them because he couldn’t get wet, I’ll speak for Hank in saying that he was very fortunate to get to stay in the newest, most luxurious hotel on the island!


During the summer of 2007 Hank traveled with our family again, this time to Curacao, an island commonly known as being one of the ABC islands. I even have a picture of Hank sitting on my sister’s bed in our hotel room in my photo album from our family vacation. Earlier that summer he also took a trip with some of my best friends and me to Kissimmee, Florida. My friend’s parents owned a beautiful time share and gave us permission to stay there for the week. Hank and I shared a bedroom with my friend Jess. We even had our own full bathroom! It was beautiful and we were so thankful to be able to vacation there. Although I didn’t bring Hank along with us to the different theme parks in fear that he might get lost, he still had the opportunity to stay with my friends and me in a lavish condo in Florida, located on an elaborate golf course that was too sophisticated for young adults like us.


In addition to being cultured, Hank is also educated. Hank joined me when I moved into my dorm room during the fall of 2006. There, he was introduced to my two roommates and two suitemates. Living away at school was fun and interesting experience for both of us. Although it was a tight squeeze, hank slept with me on our top bunk twin bed every night. He heard all of the scandalous stories my roommates and I would reminisce over from the night before. He would even keep me company in my bed on those cold, rainy days that I would decide that I didn’t want to go to class. Hank watched every season of Desperate Housewives on DVD with my roommates and me and met all of our friends that lived down the hall from us. Like me, Hank has had the opportunity to experience “the college life.”


Ironically, Hank remained nameless until we were about two years-old, mainly because I didn’t talk much until then. Actually, he was named after a friend of mine that had moved after we met at the babysitter’s house. It’s amazing how attached to other people you can be even at the innocent age of two. I began going to the babysitters as a tiny six-month-old when my mom had to return to work from maternity leave. Both my parents were fairly new in their careers and worked under a very demanding schedule. My mom who is an accountant worked for the city of Clifton, which was quite a commute from our house in Piscataway. My dad who is a police officer would often have to work nights as well as overtime due to his rank as a new, young police officer on the department. Therefore, I spent a lot of time at the babysitter’s house, which in reality wasn’t that bad as over the years my babysitter and her family became like a second family to me. It was at the babysitters that I met a young boy named Hank who I had befriended. Looking back I don’t remember much of our friendship. It’s hard to imagine what a friendship at the age of two entails but he must have left quite the impression on me since he is the one who I named my teddy bear after.