A Book Like Me by De'Nai

A Book Like Me by De'Nai - May 2017 Scholarship Essay

De’Nai Simms
De’Nai Simms
College Essay
07 May 2017
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Readers think the definition of pain is suffering when in fact it is the Baudelaire children’s life. What they go through readers can not even imagine. After the mysterious death of the Baudelaire’s parents they are forced into Count Olaf’s care. The children are forced from a clean and loving home into an abusive and dilapidated one. Unknown to the children greater danger lies on the horizon. Count Olaf their supposed guardian forces Violet, the eldest child, into marriage to acquire the vast Baudelaire fortune. That very same night he plans to withdraw all of the Baudelaire’s fortune and kill them. No one is able to protect the siblings from the devious plan of Count Olaf, but the inventive mind of the children.
Like the Baudelaire children I have suffered through vast things, but can always find solace in this book. The Baudelaire children face hardships you can’t even imagine or think possible to escape from. With each word that I read about them I felt better about my situation and that I could get through the hardships. As the Baudelaires face evil deeds by Count Olaf, I face evil deeds committed by my siblings.
I wouldn't say that growing up was hard, but it wasn't a walk in the park either. My older sister would run away from home on a daily, so much in fact that the police knew our phone number by heart. My older brother on the other hand would get into fights that he could never finish. Such as the time a man pulled out a gun on him because my brother wouldn't pay for his hair cut. Being only four years younger than my siblings I remember everything vividly. The cops, the concern, the anger it affected me too.
Unlike them however I was a good child and searched for solace in books. A Series of Unfortunate Events was the perfect distraction. All the misfortunes that the Baudelaire children faced made me set aside my problems and say it could be worse. Reading how they lost their parents but still stayed together and faced the tyranny of Count Olaf was inspiring. Situations that seem impossible yet they escaped from without a scratch, while at the same time learning lessons along the way.