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https://studentshare.org/sociology/1496711-story-of-a-boy-soldier-during-american-revolution.
This is the case for many other boys at my age as well teenagers. In the camp sites where we are housed, there are often many activities to carry out. Some of them are overwhelming to me but I try my best as my father is busy in the army and my mother is also busy at the camp site. I do some work to help my family like fetching water, gathering wood and cleaning around the campsite. The work is very tiring as especially fetching water. Sometimes I feel that I do not have enough energy to do it considering am still in my tender years.
It also takes a tool on me knowing how my mother suffers emotionally at the thought of me having to do all that work for everything to be in place. According to her, she does not like it at all but there is nothing immediate to help the situation. I see her very unhappy and it makes me unhappy too. Sometimes, I have to do work related to the war. This includes delivering messages. To some extent, the army may send us to spy when the risk is not that high. I fear for my life as this is a risky situation as the war is getting intense with each minute.
However, the spirit of the soldiers in fulfilling their course is the main motivation in engaging in indirect war activities. My innocence is an asset for the fulfillment of some military achievements. There are rewards for these military duties but they come in food rations. This is very helpful to my family as there is not enough time to cultivate crops or obtain food elsewhere due to the danger caused by the war. I feel well when I obtain something to give to my family in the absence of my father but I also feel depressed when there is not enough to feed all of us.
My mother certainly does her part but it is not enough for us all. That is why I take it as a responsibility and embrace what other boys of the same age do for the benefits. The war has brought a fair share of family conflicts. It threatens to destabilize our home as a result of arguments between my mother and father. I am often the center of the arguments. They can’t decide whether I should attend school or which school I should attend. Furthermore, my mother is always expressing her discontentment with the military activities I have to do such as delivering messages in potentially dangerous areas.
This has been the course of arguments for sometimes and I feel guilty for all of it. I would not want to see my family break as I would not imagine life without the family unit. I do not know what I would do being 11 years old and in the middle of a crisis. Sometimes I find myself thinking too much for things that I should not worry about at my age. The war has made me and other boys hardy but also emotionally difficult. My father discovered that I have a musical talent. He acknowledges that I could do with nurturing as well as helping out in the military band.
I was recruited to play the fife and drums for the regiment in which my father features. It involves strict procedures and practice time. I tam subjected to more than I can handle. It becomes emotionally and physically tiring for me. Considering that I have other activities to do, keeping me in practice makes me ran out of time to fulfill the duties that the situation has placed on me towards my family. Managing my time is very difficult and I am often frustrated when things do not go as planned.
I do not get time to play with my friends. In fact, there is no enough time
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