Grades 9–11
MemoirWritingKaprice D. is a 15-year-old African-American female from New Orleans, Louisiana. She loves computer science and engineering. However she loves nothing more than her family and friends.
Have you ever wondered how you would be able to identify someone you loved if their appearance changed? Well, this would be my way to identify not only my father but my siblings as well. A wonderful inside joke my family shares that was started with my older brother in his youth, who is now seventeen years old, and has continued.
It was started from pure mockery. My brother couldn’t pronounce the word “something” correctly and, ever since, we use it as a placeholder and a reminder of that core memory. Now it is a joke that reminds me that I know what love is.
Love is a concept that millions if not billions of people try to define every year. There are said to be many different ways to describe and express it. Some say it feels like home, and it’ll always be there no matter what. I agree with those few. Every time I hear this joke I feel at peace, I feel at home, I feel loved. The joke is the word “sesthing.” I know it doesn’t sound like much and might even bring on confusion but to my family, it’s everything.
While on the cell phone with my father, he would say, “Guess what Price?” to which I replied, “What daddy?”
He then would say, “I know sesthing.”
Nothing more was to be said. There was instant laughter and joy.
No matter what I was feeling before the conversation, my mood was brightened, and my day was made. I could be standing in the middle of a thunderstorm but when I hear that word, the sun magically appears over my head.
The word “sesthing” is important to my family because of the way it uniquely connects us to each other. The joke will work similarly to a story or an old folktale for generations to come; they too will feel loved and at peace when they hear the word. Even though it isn’t much, I cherish the word and the moments it creates because not everyone gets a chance to experience and feel the emotions that it brings to my family.
***
This piece was originally published in 826 New Orleans’ It’s a New Orleans Thing.
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