It's inevitable: the essay about your family. Every year, Ben Braeden writes one at school, and every year, Lisa saves it.
-September 14, 2009, 3rd grade-
At home, it's just me and my mom. My mom's name is Lisa, and she's a yoga teacher. We see my grandparents a couple times a month. They live across town. My mom has a sister, Jenny. Aunt Jenny and her husband live near my grandparents. They have three girls; Allie, Lucy, and Holly. Allie's a couple years older than me. Lucy and Holly are both younger than me. I wish one of them was closer to my age.
-September 28, 2010, 4th grade-
I live with my mom and my Dean. My mom's named Lisa, and she's a yoga teacher. Dean's my mom's boyfriend. He works as a mechanic. He's awesome. Dean has a sweet 1967 Chevy Impala, but he doesn't drive it very much. He drives his truck. Dean drives me to school every day before going to work. He came to live with us after his brother, Sam, died. All of Dean's family is dead. Every month or so we drive up to South Dakota to visit Dean's Bobby. Bobby runs an auto yard and is kind of like Dean's dad. Dean's real dad died a couple of years ago. Dean's mom died when he was little. I like living with my mom and Dean.
-5th grade-
No writing was required about family in 5th grade.
-September 4, 2012, 6th grade-
Two years ago, my family was just me and my mom. Now, there's me, Mom, Dean, Sam, Castiel, and Bobby. Dean is Mom's boyfriend. He started living with us about a year ago. I really like Dean. Dean's been showing me how to fix cars. Sam is Dean's younger brother. He's only been living with us for a few months. Sam was missing for a year, and he's only living with us until he recovers from the last year. Castiel is Dean and Sam's best friend. Over the summer he took me on a couple trips. Cas doesn't live with us. I don't actually know where he lives. Bobby is sort of like Sam and Dean's dad, since their real dad wasn't a very good dad before he died. Bobby owns a car repair shop in South Dakota, and we visit him every month or so. I love my family.
-October 1, 2013, 7th grade-
My family is not like most families. Sure, I have a mom. Sure, I have grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. But I have something no one else does. I have Dean, Sam, Bobby, and Cas. Dean always says family doesn't end with blood. Dean is my mother, Lisa's fiance. I live with Mom and Dean. Dean works as a mechanic now, but before he came to live with us he worked in his family business. They did pest control. I'm real glad I don't ever have to do pest control. Sam is Dean's younger brother. He did pest control with Dean, now he's going to law school. He lived with us for about a year until a few months ago. Bobby is sort of like Dean and Sam's adopted dad. Their real dad wasn't much good. Bobby owns a car repair shop in South Dakota, and does a little pest control on the side. Cas is Dean and Sam's best friend. He's a little strange. For one, he wears the same outfit every day. Tan trenchcoat with a white shirt and blue tie. I've never seen him in anything else. Second, he doesn't understand much about the modern world. But Sam and Dean love him, and he takes us places, so I like Cas. Then there's me, Ben.
-August 23, 2014, 8th grade-
Ben's teacher this year told them to write her a fictional story about their family, using only real names and relations. He got an A and a call home to Lisa and Dean for the disturbing nature of the work.
My name is Ben. My mother and I are the only normal ones in my family. Her name is Lisa. She teaches yoga. She's married to Dean. She's known him as long as I've been alive, but they only got married this summer. I met Dean around my eighth birthday when he was in town on a hunting trip. I didn't see him again for two years. When I finally did see him again, it was because he showed up on our door after losing his brother, Sam, his other brother, Adam, his father-figure, Bobby, and his angel boyfriend, Castiel. Dean, Sam, and Bobby are hunters. I don't mean deer hunters, or moose hunters. I mean rugaru hunters, demon hunters, vampire hunters, angel hunters, djinn hunters. They kill monsters. Dean always says "saving people, hunting things, the family business." When I met Dean when I was eight he actually saved my mom and me from a changeling that kidnapped me and took my place to try to feed off my mom. Castiel is an angel. He's Sam and Dean's best friend. I joke that he's Dean's boyfriend. Dean doesn't like that joke very much, but Mom does. Cas takes us on vacations sometimes. He just uses his angel teleporting and we're anywhere in the world! Once he even took us to the past because I had a history report due. Cas isn't always around, though. He's usually in heaven cleaning up the mess he made when he tried to play God.
When Dean lost everyone, it was because Sam and Adam were possessed by Lucifer and Michael, respectively. Michael had to fight his brother, Lucifer, after Sam let him out of hell by getting hooked on drinking demon blood and killing the queen demon. The catch was that they could only possess a pair of brothers from one of a couple bloodlines. The only one with two brothers was the Winchester line. So Adam and Sam became Michael and Lucifer's vessels. Lucifer in control of LuciSam beat up Dean, killed Bobby, and exploded Castiel before MichAdam could get there. Then Sam regained control of LuciSam and reopened hell, pulling MichAdam in with him. While Dean was crying over his dead everyone, Cas came back from explosion, healed his wounds, and brought Bobby back. Dean came home to Mom and me, like he promised Sam he would.
Sam was brought back from hell about a year after Dean moved in. He had to live with us for a while because Lucifer and Michael tortured he and Adam in hell. We actually had to check Sam into a mental hospital for a little while. I prayed to Cas to come save Sam, and he did. He took some of the burden of the torture from Sam, and now he's doing much better. Sam moved out, and bought a dog named Doug. He applied for law school, and got in. He bought another dog "to keep Doug company."
They're all retired from hunting now. Dean takes care of anything that threatens Cicero, but that's just a vampire now and then. We're all happy.
-9th grade-
Nothing on family in 9th grade.
-May 20, 2017,10th grade-
This teacher required a paragraph, not an essay.
My family. My family has been the source of much happiness, sadness, and anger. I live with my parents, Lisa and Dean. As far as parents go, they're cool. I didn't know Dean until 2008, and he didn't live with us until 2010. Dean didn't know I existed. Mom never told him. When he moved in, Mom said he wasn't my biological dad. When I think back on not knowing Dean was my biological father, I'm glad I had time to get to know Dean as a friend before viewing him as a father figure. My mother had always told me she would support me if I wanted to seek out my biological father at age sixteen. I turned sixteen earlier this month, and chose to do testing with Dean to find out if he was my biological father. As it turns out, I'm a Winchester. When I got the news that I had family beyond Mom, my grandparents, and some cousins, I was ecstatic. Knowing that the people I had been viewing as family for the last few years filled a hole in me I didn't know was there.
Well, what'd you think? How was it? Maybe read my Stucky fic or follow me on Tumblr?