Aaron’s Oldest: A Memoir of Mild Betrayal

A much younger Aaron & his first kid...

Hey guys! It’s Aaron's first kid here… I do not write like him so buckle up. Now listen I am a 19 year old and I do not have much responsibility. I am in the military though so I have a little bit. Now, here is my Thesis… I love my dad, however I do not accept his lifestyle.

Little backstory, I have two tattoos and my dad gets my shark mistaken for a whale most of the time. Our fallout started with Zac Efron, he ruined my life. My dad obsessed over him and loved him more than his own kids, I cannot confirm nor deny if this is false my dad will not answer me. It truly felt like my dad had left us for his other family, aka the vegans, he lost so much weight that I weighed more than him at 15. We still got along for the most part but he started to isolate himself from the family and push us away. There was a time where I sat on his office floor for three hours and waited for him to be done with work because he promised we would watch a movie after he got done. It got to midnight and I decided to go to bed. Our relationship got more rocky over the years to the point where we argued more than I could keep up with. The tipping point for me was when I decided to join the Coast Guard, my dad had turned down every other job I suggested including Marine biologist and Cop. Even though a couple years prior he took me to a scuba diving class and I got to watch him float to the surface and have a panic attack, and then we ate the most disgusting pizza ever but it tasted amazing and I laughed for the next week at him. After I pushed him off the edge of sanity I got cussed out and the signed papers for the Coast Guard thrown in front of my face, I was ready to leave. There's a whole graduation incident that we won’t talk about because I am currently talking about it with my therapist. I got a not so nice paragraph two days before I left for bootcamp and I definitely did not like my dad for the duration of bootcamp. After I got out though he was not a horrible human being because he found Jesus, I personally do not believe in Jesus but I have seen both sides of my dad and he is for sure happier now than he has ever been. We are actually on FaceTime right now and laughing at all the messed up past we have had. Anyway wow this is long sorry guys…

Okay this is why the title is named what it is, I do not agree with the model of the modern day churches. Mission trips are beneficial for christians yes, I know it is in your faith, however coming from a safety standpoint, sending people to countries that are not the biggest fans of Americans is dangerous. I know everyday there is a chance you can die but this is my dad we are talking about. The severe ADD, chaotic, funny guy that cares more than he'd like me to admit. Is this a selfish standpoint? Yes. HOWEVER I care about safety and seeing that a war is going on where my dad is supposed to be heading does not sit right with me. He is a grown adult and I cannot do anything about his life choices, but I'm allowed to disagree with them. I like logic and facts, and logically you do not head places where there is a safety concern. Whether that be in your own country or a foreign one. He knows very well my opinion on this topic because he is my dad.

If you would like to ask questions or talk further ask Aaron for my number, I will happily talk about any subject mentioned (but NOT Zac Efron).

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

-Aarons oldest <3