My memory of being in the cotton field includes not my family but many of my friends and their families living in our community. I didn’t enjoy being in the cotton field to pick cotton, but I enjoyed being with my friends. Unfortunately, being with my friends and not having adults in the field with us, the young folk sometimes “slacked off.” My dad expected a certain amount of cotton to be picked each day and he would let us know if we didn’t meet that quota. He said we would hve to stay home from school to pick cotton if we didn’t meet that quota. I didn’t think we would have ot stay home since we never missed a day before. When that day that we had to stay home came, I was devastated. I got dressed for school (even though my other brother, sister, and other sister didn’t because they knew we weren’t going). I remember crying and yelling when the bus came and left without me.

This is a day I’d always remember as so impactful to me, and the importance of following rules to meet goals.