5th Day of Rumspringa

Aslı Özoğuz
IB1
17.02.2013
Word Count: 562

                                          The Rumspringa Experience

           Dear Diary,

So this is my 5th day of Rumspringa. To tell you the truth it’s been really hard and I miss my parents and my house a lot. I have the best parents in the world. Even though they are extremely strict and conservative Amish parents, they still let me experience rumspringa. Most of my friends here say they had to run away from home because their parents didn’t let them. I guess I’m pretty lucky.

Right now I’m staying in a house with 5 other girls. It’s not big and luxurious but I can say it’s much better than my old house. In this house we have a television. It’s awesome. In my old house we weren’t allowed to watch television. We didn’t even have phones! After I got to the house my friends took me to a mall. There were countless shops inside. I was really amazed. I got myself jeans, skirts and tank tops. They weren’t quite cheap but my lovely parents gave me enough money for this experience. So now I am wearing jeans and t-shirts which I wasn’t allowed to wear before. It’s refreshing. I was sick of the conservative Amish life style.

After the shopping was done my friends took me to a party. I had my first beer there. We also played a game called beer pong which I have never heard before. Back home we aren’t supposed to drink alcohol at all so these were all new to me. But I had loads of fun. Maybe if my parents knew how fun this was they wouldn’t be so conservative and strict. They never had a chance to experience Rumspringa. Their parents didn’t let them. That’s why they wanted me to try it. Anyway, after the party we all got pretty drunk so we had to return home.

Also one day my friends took me to Burger King which is a very famous fast food restaurant. I ate a hamburger called Big King. It tasted like heaven. At my home I was only allowed to eat what we grew ourselves. I was really amazed by everything. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I drove for the first time! I didn’t get a license yet but I have friends who have cars and a license. So they thought me. I’m still learning but it’s very hard. Back home the only thing I drove was a horse. I hope I’ll be able to get my license soon so I can drive whenever I want.

I have done a lot in these 5 days. I really like this lifestyle a lot. It’s not strict so I feel free. I never got a chance to feel free in my entire life. All my life I had to follow certain rules. And these rules seem stupid to me. What’s so wrong about watching television and driving cars? I just don’t get it. However if I leave the Amish community, I’ll never see my parents again. I can’t stand that. Even now I miss them a lot. I hope I make the right decision in the end. Anyway I have to sleep now. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. I’m going to try to get a job and at nigh we are going to a bar for the first time. I hope it goes well. Goodnight for now!