Profile Essay

For my English class, we had to write profile essays this last week. Here is the finished product:

Country music has never been a favorite of mine. In fact, I usually can’t handle it at all. There are a few artists whose songs are upbeat and make me happy, but the majority of them are like a slippery slope leading straight into an ice cold water of depression. This music style just seems so discouraging; they all seem to involve the cat being run over, the house catching fire, a significant other cheating, or a loved one dying. Honestly, is there nothing better to talk about than all of the slumps in life? What good can be found in so much complaining? The music I enjoy is happy, upbeat, and inspiring. Recently, I met someone whose life is very much like that of a country song. She has experienced so much heartbreak, it is ridiculous. However, despite all of these misfortunes she has undergone, her life reflects the kind of music anyone will see on my iPod: happy, upbeat, and inspiring. I would like to share with you the story of an 18 year old girl who has considerably changed my perspective on life by explaining the trials she has endured, how she dealt with them, and how her perspective has modified the way I perceive existence.

Katie and I met at Café Rio. I had been working at the to-go counter answering phones and running the cash register; Katie had been living in Arizona for the beginning of the summer, but returned to Utah and picked up at Café Rio where she left off in May. She was the to-go trainer: she was an expert at making the call-in orders run smoothly. On top of that, she was excellent at customer service. When I first started at Rio, I had countless customers ask me why Katie hadn’t been working lately. Upon her homecoming, customers flocked to her! Whistles rang through the restaurant as all our happy Hispanic coworkers cheered when she arrived. I am surprised Katie didn’t suffocate, there were so many people running to give her hugs, and squeezing her tight as if they’d never let go. Obviously, my first impression of Katie was she was extremely friendly, loveable, and hard-working.

As Katie and I worked together 40 hours a week, we became great friends. I was surprised by how quickly she opened up to me. She shared with me so many of the traumas her life had encountered. How could someone who had experienced so much hurt come out on top as being one of the happiest people I’ve ever met? While she told me stories from her haunting past, she exampled her view on life and the lessons she took from each of these experiences.

If I were to write a country song of Katie’s life, the first verse would talk about her childhood. At a very young age, Katie was abandoned by her mother. I can’t even imagine! For all these years, Katie has grown up without the love or support of a mom. This makes me reflect back on my life. I remember all of the days I came home from school, only to be wrapped in the arms of my loving mom. A life without a mother, especially a mother who abandoned you, would be extremely challenging.

The second verse of the song would explain how Katie not only lost her mom, but how her dad was taken also. Katie woke up one morning last year to find her dad collapsed and unconscious on the kitchen floor. She immediately called for an ambulance, but her heart sank because she knew it was already too late. Her cherished father had passed through this life and into the next without even a goodbye. Katie and her brother parted their ways: Katie went to live with her grandma, and her brother left to live with an uncle.

Verse 3: When Katie’s dad died, she was left with paying all the bills. Her grandma had already retired, so Katie was not only responsible for covering the costs of herself and her younger brother, but also her grandma. She took on a full time job at Café Rio. Even during the school year, Katie worked 40 or more hours each week. As Katie progressed in her job at Rio, she became very close to all of her coworkers. So close, in fact, that they formed a “family”. Café Rio became Katie’s safe haven, the place Katie called home.

In the fourth verse, I would sing of Katie’s latest struggles. In February, Katie was diagnosed with cancer. She had been working at Café Rio for a year by this point. She called the assistant manager, Ismael, Papa. She adopted him as her dad. She called another assistant manager, Mom. She basically lived with another worker, whom she knew as her sister. The Café Rio “family” grew close at this time in Katie’s battle. When she was informed of her cancer, she ran as fast as she could to her home, Rio. Papa and her “mom” cradled her and held her tightly in the office, as she quietly sobbed in their arms. Her life felt broken. The only place she felt she belonged was her “family” in the little Mexican restaurant. Customers coming in that day had no idea that a sweet 18 year old girl was weeping behind the office door.

The fifth verse would describe Katie’s relationships with boys. The most important one to understand was a boyfriend who treated her as though she was no more than dirt. Scars on Katie’s back aren’t enough to even begin to describe the ache her boyfriend caused her. I will never forget the day she came to work with a black eye. She described to me how he was angry with her for something she didn’t even do, and he pounded her. He had been drinking, so the beating was even more brutal than customary. He would mentally abuse her by day, calling her demeaning names. Then, he abused her by night with blows to her head. She thought there was no way out, until finally she hid from him. She stopped answering phone calls and even had her phone company block her number from him. The doors to her house were always kept locked tight. She spent the majority of her time at Rio, so she was always surrounded by huge crowds and coworkers who loved her.

Between each verse, a chorus would ring out. Katie is one of my heroes. I have never met anyone my age that has experienced so much pain, fear, and hurt. She has had to live through and continue pressing forward with little to no strength left at times. Despite all her hardships, Katie remains one of the happiest, positive, outgoing people I know. She is dedicated, and hardworking, and she loves people with all her heart. I often get text messages from her, saying something like, “Hey Love, what’s up?” She never fails to express love to those she cares about. She usually answers the phone with a similar phrase, “Hi Love! How are you?” I love being around her and learning from her experiences. They have taught her that life is short; don’t waste it. Express love constantly to those you truly do love; you never know when they will be taken from you. She has been taught discipline through the fifty hours or so she spends working each week after her college courses in the morning. A part time student, full time worker, and an overtime lover: we can all learn from her story. It is to be cherished and held dear to our hearts.

Before meeting Katie, I knew that family relationships were important. I love my family more than anything. I realized though, that I was not expressing that love nearly as often as I should. Now I call my family every day, never failing to say “I love you” at the end of a conversation. Katie showed me that working hard is an excellent stress reliever. Often times people show their anger and frustration at the world by violent, cruel acts. Not Katie. If she had not told me about her life, I would have never even known. She is so good at keeping her past a mystery. She doesn’t use makeup either: Katie uses a smile to brighten and clear up her face.

Katie’s country song would be one of many emotions. The listener would feel the pain and agony that came with every crisis. However, they would also feel happiness and excitement for the future, just as Katie showed. No one would have blamed Katie if she chose to be sad and gloomy because of the problems she has faced, but they didn’t need to. She never let her problems show. She always smiled, laughed, played. She was one of the happiest people I have ever met. Her song would express this delight in life. I think I would listen to Katie’s country song incessantly.